Letting the American Dream go as a former visa holder

Vivienne Yang moved from Taiwan to New York City in 2018 and earned a master's degree in applied analytics from Columbia University. After being laid off from her ad-tech job in 2024, she had to leave behind the apartment she had bought — and the life she had built — in New York. In September 2025, President Trump set in motion a change that would throw the H-1B visa application process into disarray. His proposed $100,000 fee on new H-1B…