These highly skilled, highly educated foreign workers have been documenting the challenges of trying to build a career in the U.S. “If I don’t find a job, I have to leave the country.” “I sent out 907 applications.” “Have I ever truly relaxed in America?” They need an H-1B visa, which is given through a lottery system that allows U.S. companies to hire highly skilled international professionals for up to six years, in industries like tech and medicine. But the Trump administration has made changes to the program, requiring companies to pay a high fee and enforcing new rules that prioritize higher-paid foreign workers, in an effort to make more jobs available to Americans. This has forced some foreigners to rethink their career plans. “I think the U.S. is still the golden standard.” Wen-Hsing Huang came to the U.S. from Taiwan in 2022 for the tech scene, and was hired by Amazon on an H-1B visa. “I want to use my talents to change the world, and I think the United States was the best platform to do that.” Ananya Joshi came from India to attend a master’s program in Chicago in 2022. “So it was actually my my father’s dream that I had inherited because my father couldn’t go because of his financial situation.” Haina, a Chinese national, fell in love with the U.S. while studying in New York. She got her H-1B in 2022. “I remember there were a lot of companies, they would be able to sponsor.” Haina said she’s experienced a recent shift, where it has become harder to find companies that sponsor H-1B visas. “This time when I was job searching, I didn’t realize it could be a deal breaker. I just had my second interview of 2026, and it was a pretty short call.” (Recruiter) “I don’t think we’re eligible or able to do sponsorship for this role at the moment.” “They don’t even really get to know if I’m qualified, am I experienced, or anything. The decision is already made at that point.” “Please, please make sure that the company you’re about to work for has experience handling international hires.” Joshi said a start-up she interned with during grad school rescinded their promise to sponsor her H-1B visa. “Ask for everything in writing. And then there were jobs that were contract jobs. They would just reject me. They would only need people with a green card or a U.S. citizenship.” Even with an H-1B and a six-figure salary, Huang said he felt himself becoming anxious, as tech layoffs ramped up and Trump’s immigration policies kept changing. “I woke up every morning with this knot in my stomach, because my entire life depended on the policy I couldn’t control. The United States seems not very welcoming to immigrants that contribute to this country.” “The signals are, like, pretty clear at this point. They want to make this H-1B, is, like, risky and also, like, harder.” Hello, everyone.” Despite that, Haina says she’s determined to keep looking for a job until she’s forced to leave the country. “The pressure about where I’m going to be in the next of my career or, like, my life. I sort of like lost the ability to enjoy my life or just be happy.” “So I had to leave the U.S. Of course, I expanded my search beyond the U.S. Found a job in Germany.” Joshi packed up her life and started a new role with a European biotech firm in January. “I think I left at a good time, because there would have been more stress. I would have been stuck in a loop.” “It’s an endless cycle of anxiety.” After quitting his job at Amazon, Huang is now back in Taiwan, planning to launch his own company. “To bet on building an A.I. company that gives me complete control over my time, location and future. Staying in the United States is no longer the only way to achieve my American dream.”

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“I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country,” Musk said in an X post on Saturday morning. 

Musk’s offer comes as a partial government shutdown passes one month, with lawmakers unable to reach a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the TSA.

The DHS shutdown has left TSA agents working without pay, triggering staffing shortages and long airport lines nationwide, while raising concerns about the ability to prevent attacks.

Republicans have pushed to fund DHS, while Democrats have sought standalone funding for agencies like TSA that would exclude immigration operations.

People standing in a long line at the Delta Terminal C check-in at LaGuardia Airport. Brigitte Stelzer

TSA officers are considered essential employees and are required to report to work even during a shutdown, though pay can be delayed.

Elon Musk offered to cover salaries for TSA personnel amid the ongoing government shutdown. Ella Pellegrini for NY Post

Musk’s offer appeared aimed at easing the strain as airport lines grow and staffing pressures build.

Major U.S. airports have experienced severe delays, with security wait times exceeding 3 hours in some cases, due to high TSA officer absenteeism. Hardest-hit airports include Houston (HOU, IAH), Atlanta (ATL), New Orleans (MSY), and Philadelphia (PHL). 

The DHS shutdown has left TSA agents working without pay, causing staffing shortages and long airport lines. AFP via Getty Images

Footage from PHL, shot early Thursday morning, showed hundreds of passengers waiting on elevators and escalators to clear a security checkpoint.

It comes as a top TSA union leader warned Thursday that airport security risks linked to the shutdown are set to “get worse,” given that TSA has been under a hiring freeze since last year.

It remains unclear how Musk’s proposed arrangement would work or whether it would be legally possible for a private individual to fund federal workers.

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In a statement, Home Depot said its “goal is to drive greater agility and position the company to move faster and stay even more closely connected with our frontline associates.”

In a statement, Home Depot said its “goal is to drive greater agility and position the company to move faster and stay even more closely connected with our frontline associates.” Getty Images

The home improvement giant said it willoffer separation packages, transitional benefits, and job placement support to impacted employees.

US housing demand has been choppy due to rising unemployment and high home prices. Meanwhile, easing interest and mortgage rates have failed to aid a recovery, with Home Depot projecting a bigger drop in fiscal 2025 profit in its latest quarterly earnings.

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The generous gesture came after the benevolent boss sold the company for $1.7 billion.

Graham Walker, the now-former CEO of Fibrebond, told The Wall Street Journal that he would not agree to sell his company if prospective buyer Eaton did not earmark 15% of the proceeds for its employees — even though none of them owned stock.

The deal, which was completed earlier this year when Eaton acquired Fibrebond, triggered payouts to 540 full-time workers, averaging about $443,000 per worker spread over five years.

Graham Walker, the former CEO of Fibrebond, required that 15% of the proceeds from the sale of his family company go directly to employees — a $240 million windfall. Fibrebond

Long-tenured employees received far more, according to The Journal.

Walker, 46, told the newspaper that the requirement was non-negotiable.

Without it, he believed many workers who had carried the company through decades of booms, busts and near-collapse would walk out the door.

In June, employees began receiving sealed envelopes detailing their individual awards. Some of them were overwhelmed with emotion while others thought it was a prank, The Journal reported.

Others sat in stunned silence.

Lesia Key, a 29-year Fibrebond veteran who started in 1995 making $5.35 an hour, broke down when she opened her letter, according to the report.

Key, now 51, had risen to oversee facilities across Fibrebond’s 254-acre campus, managing a team of 18.

She reportedly used her bonus to pay off her mortgage and open a clothing boutique in a nearby town.

The factory floor where employees who once made hourly wages walked away with life-changing payouts. Fibrebond

“Before, we were going paycheck to paycheck,” Key was quoted as saying. “I can live now.”

Another employee used his money to take his entire extended family to Cancún, Mexico. Others paid down credit cards, bought cars outright, funded college tuition or boosted retirement savings.

One longtime assistant manager, Hong “TT” Blackwell, 67, received several hundred thousand dollars and immediately retired.

Blackwell, an immigrant from Vietnam who spent more than 15 years in Fibrebond’s logistics operation, said she used part of her bonus to buy her husband a Toyota Tacoma and set aside the rest.

“Now I don’t have to worry,” she said. “My retirement is nice and peaceful.”

Blackwell said taxes took a heavy bite — nearly $100,000 — but the net amount was still life-changing.

Across Minden, a town of about 12,000 people, the money rippled quickly through the local economy.

Fibrebond’s 254-acre manufacturing campus in Minden, where 540 full-time workers shared in the sale proceeds. Fibrebond

City officials said local retailers saw a surge in spending as employees paid off debts, renovated homes and made long-delayed purchases.

“There’s a lot of buzz about the amount of money being spent,” Mayor Nick Cox told The Journal.

Fibrebond was founded in 1982 by Walker’s father, Claud Walker, with a dozen employees building shelters for electrical and telecom equipment.

It thrived during the cellular boom of the 1990s — then nearly collapsed when its factory burned to the ground in 1998.

The Walkers kept paying employees even as production stalled, a move workers still cite as the foundation of the company’s loyalty culture.

By the early 2000s, the dot-com bust slashed Fibrebond’s customer base to just three clients, forcing layoffs that cut the workforce from roughly 900 to 320.

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Graham Walker and his brother later took over day-to-day operations, selling assets and paying down debt while searching for a new market.

The turnaround came with a risky $150 million investment to pivot into building modular power enclosures for data centers — a gamble that paid off when cloud computing demand surged during the pandemic.

Sales jumped nearly 400% in five years, drawing acquisition interest from larger industrial players.

Walker told every potential buyer the same thing: 15% of the sale price had to go to employees.

When asked why he insisted on 15%, Walker told the Journal: “It’s more than 10%.”

Advisers warned him the condition could complicate the deal or invite lawsuits from former workers who missed out, the Journal reported.

Nonetheless, Walker pressed on.

The bonuses were structured as retention awards, paid annually over five years, requiring most employees to stay with the company to receive the full amount — a provision Walker said was critical to keeping operations stable after the sale.

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In a statement after the vote, union leadership said the company had failed to address the needs of the roughly 3,200 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837.

“Boeing claimed they listened to their employees — the result of today’s vote proves they have not,” IAM International President Brian Bryant said in a statement. “Boeing’s corporate executives continue to insult the very people who build the world’s most advanced military aircraft — the same planes and military systems that keep our servicemembers and nation safe.”

Boeing’s latest offer was largely the same as offers previously rejected by union members. REUTERS

The five-year offer was largely the same as offers previously rejected by union members. The company reduced the ratification bonus but added $3,000 in Boeing shares that vest over three years and a $1,000 retention bonus in four years. It also improved wage growth for workers at the top of the pay scale in the fourth year of the contract.

“To fund the increases in this offer, we had to make trade-offs,” including reduced hourly wage increases tied to attendance and certain shift work, Boeing Vice President Dan Gillian said in a message to workers on Thursday.

IAM leaders have pressed the planemaker for higher retirement plan contributions and a ratification bonus closer to the $12,000 that Boeing gave to union members on strike last year in the company’s commercial airplane division in the Pacific Northwest.

Boeing’s Gillian has called the company’s offer a landmark deal and “market-leading,” and he has repeatedly said Boeing would not increase the overall value of its terms, and only shift value around.

Boeing is expected to report another unprofitable quarter when it posts its third-quarter results on Wednesday. Wall Street analysts anticipate the company will announce a multi-billion dollar charge on its 777X program, which is six years behind schedule and not yet certified by regulators.

Boeing unionized workers in the St. Louis area have been on strike since Aug. 4. AP

In September, IAM members approved the union’s proposed four-year contract. However, Boeing management has refused to consider that offer.

The IAM estimates that its offer would add about $50 million to the agreement’s cost over its four-year duration, compared with the company offer that was rejected. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg is set to earn $22 million this year.

Union officials accused Boeing of bargaining in bad faith in an unfair labor practice charge filed Oct. 16 with the National Labor Relations Board.

Boeing has delayed deliveries of its F-15EX fighter.

“It’s well past time for Boeing to stop cheaping out on the workers who make its success possible and bargain a fair deal that respects their skill and sacrifice,” Bryant said.

Union members say they are getting by on a mix of $300 a week in strike benefits from the IAM, second jobs, and belt-tightening. Boeing has said that striking workers’ coverage under company-provided health insurance ended on Aug. 30.

Since the strike began on Aug. 4, Boeing officials have repeatedly said the company’s mitigation plan has limited the effects of the work stoppage on production.

However, it has delayed deliveries of F-15EX fighters to the US Air Force, Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach told the Senate Armed Services Committee in comments submitted for a Oct. 9 hearing on his nomination as the Air Force’s chief of staff.

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“IAM District 837 members … deserve a contract that reflects their skill, dedication, and the critical role they play in our nation’s defense,” the union’s Business Representative Tom Boelling said.

Boeing said it was ready for the action. “We are prepared for a strike and have fully implemented our contingency plan,” Boeing Air Dominance vice president and general manager Dan Gillian said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Boeing’s original offer proposal included a 20% general wage increase over four years and a $5,000 ratification bonus. Bloomberg via Getty Images

“We’re disappointed our employees in St. Louis rejected an offer that featured 40% average wage growth,” he added.

Boeing’s original proposal included a 20% general wage increase over four years and a $5,000 ratification bonus, as well as more vacation time and sick leave. The union had rejected the offer, saying it was insufficient.

Last week, Boeing sent a new contract offer to the union with some minor compensation changes that would benefit senior union members, according to the company. The offer also kept current overtime policies, which Boeing had proposed modifying in the last contract offer.

The workers assemble Boeing’s fighter jets and the MQ-25, an aerial refueling drone being developed for the US Navy.

Boeing is expanding manufacturing facilities in the St. Louis area for the new US Air Force fighter, the F-47A. AFP via Getty Images

Boeing’s defense division is expanding manufacturing facilities in the St. Louis area for the new US Air Force fighter, the F-47A, after it won the contract this year.

The upcoming strike by the union, representing 3,200 employees, would be much smaller than the one Boeing was hit with last fall, when 33,000 machinists at Boeing’s commercial plane division walked out for nearly two months. That strike ended with approval of a four-year contract that included a 38% wage increase.

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