A $100,000 Barrier: Why I Walked Away From the US Job Market

Reddy, who worked at Visa after completing her master's in engineering management, watched as the landscape for international graduates shifted dramatically. While the controversial $100,000 fee remains tied up in legal challenges, the climate of uncertainty surrounding visa sponsorship and the tightening job market forced a pivot. She now views the prospect of navigating the US immigration system as a losing battle, noting that even her recent acceptance into a program at the University of Pennsylvania could not outweigh the risks of further visa instability.

Currently based in Toronto, Reddy is shifting her focus toward personal projects, including a handloom brand and writing, while weighing corporate opportunities in India. She rejects the stigma that returning home equates to failure, pointing to the rapid growth of the startup ecosystems in Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. By launching an online community for international students that has grown to 9,000 members, she has gained a front-row seat to the frustration of her peers. For Reddy, the resilience built during her time at Duke is now being applied to a future that no longer requires American sponsorship.