I chose a school in the US based on what it offered.<\/p>\n
This is part of our ongoing coverage of how the Trump administration’s H-1B visa changes<\/strong> affect workers.<\/p>\n If you’ve been impacted and want to share your story, please fill out this short form<\/a> for the reporter.<\/p>\n I moved to the US at 17 on an F-1 student visa<\/p>\n I spent my first year at Middle Georgia State University, then transferred to the University of Findlay in Ohio. I played varsity tennis there for four years while earning a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.<\/p>\n I graduated in May 2022 with a 4.0 GPA. Because the pandemic gave college athletes<\/a> an extra year of NCAA eligibility, meaning I could continue competing, I stayed for an MBA and finished the following year. My scholarship covered nearly everything.<\/p>\n The pandemic gave college athletes, like Pereyra, an extra year of NCAA eligibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n Provided by Luciana Pereyra<\/p>\n I’d already started job hunting in October 2022, but I kept getting rejected after answering “yes” to the question about whether I’d need sponsorship. Eventually, I got a marketing and communications specialist role at Ohio State’s College of Nursing.<\/p>\n My future boss agreed to hold the offer until July, when my OPT authorization began. About nine months later, in April 2024, my H-1B approval notice<\/a> arrived.<\/p>\n She earned both a Bachelor of Science degree and an MBA from the University of Findlay in Ohio.\u00a0<\/p>\n Provided by Luciana Pereyra<\/p>\n The US started to feel like home<\/p>\n Once I had my own apartment in Columbus and was earning my own money, I felt settled. But I never fully relaxed into it. I never really decorated my place because I didn’t know how long I’d get to keep it.<\/p>\n Want more Business Insider in your news feed?<\/p>\n \n Add BI in Google so our reporting is easier to find when you\u2019re searching for what matters.\n <\/p>\n That stability only lasted until late 2025, when the College of Nursing restructured. On December 15, HR told me my position would end on January 15. I would have 60 days to find a new sponsor<\/a> and file a new petition, or leave the country.<\/p>\n The timing made everything worse. Universities were shutting down for winter break just as my clock started, so nothing could move until mid-January.<\/p>\n I focused my job search on other universities, hoping they’d be more open to hiring international workers<\/a>. One promising interview in Chicago fell apart the day before it was due to take place, when the recruiter learned I needed sponsorship and said the company had paused sponsorship altogether.<\/p>\n In February, I got close to another job opportunity at Ohio State. But about two weeks before my deadline to leave the country, I received an email saying they couldn’t get a visa approved in time or sponsor the new H-1B fees <\/a>required under my status.<\/p>\n I headed back to Peru in March<\/p>\n I treated the job search<\/a> like the last match of my career. But by February, the exhaustion caught up with me. I remember crying on the phone with my mom, just wanting it to be over.<\/p>\n A couple of weeks before I had to leave, I felt done, in a way. I started looking at the US and just wanted to get out. I felt like everything I’d done \u2014 my degrees, my grades, all of it \u2014 hadn’t mattered or been valued.<\/p>\n Pereyra at the airport with two suitcases and a carry-on.\u00a0<\/p>\n Provided by Luciana Pereyra<\/p>\n In my last days, I had to break my lease<\/a>, give up volunteer work translating for families in my community, and pack eight years of my life into two suitcases and a carry-on.<\/p>\n Being back in Peru comes with reverse culture shock<\/p>\n Over the past five months, I’ve gained something I hadn’t felt in years: freedom from having to structure every decision around a visa.<\/p>\n I now split my time between freelance marketing work for a US client, coaching tennis, and building Casuma<\/a>, a small business I launched in July that makes flavored cashew butters that combine the American nut-butter tradition with Peruvian flavors like lucuma and cacao. I’ve trademarked the name and sold close to 50 jars so far.<\/p>\n In Peru, she’s reconnecting with family, including her two younger brothers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Provided by Luciana Pereyra<\/p>\n It’s also been great reconnecting with my family since I’ve been back \u2014 including my two younger brothers.<\/p>\n I visited the US again for a wedding in July and loved seeing everyone, but I wouldn’t move back right now. If I ever move abroad again<\/a>, it won’t be on a work visa. I’ve already lived three years in that kind of survival mode, where losing a job means losing your home, too. It would need to come with a real path to permanent residency.<\/p>\n Back in Peru, she’s freelance marketing for a US client, coaching tennis, and building a small business.\u00a0<\/p>\n Provided Luciana Pereyra<\/p>\n Studying and working in the US was worth it, especially for the English-language and cultural experience. But my advice would be to treat it as a season, not something permanent.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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