Study Abroad in the U.S.: Visa is Just the Admission Ticket, Green Card is the Main Track

On March 25, 2026, local time, it was reported that U.S. Meta officially started a new round of layoffs, with the scale reaching hundreds, involving multiple core departments of the company.

When the news broke, the first ones to feel the impact were usually not outsiders, but the employees within. Some were asked to work remotely the next day, some who had just received offers started worrying about whether their positions could still land, and some directly described this day as the start of "layoff implementation." It was reported that some team employees had already been asked to work from home before receiving layoff notices, further exacerbating internal anxiety.

Not a Large Scale

But the Signal Released is More Alarming

From the numbers, this layoff is not considered large. By the end of 2025, Meta's total employees were nearly 79,000, so an adjustment of hundreds does not account for a large percentage. However, what's more noteworthy is not the number of people, but the wide range affected: from Reality Labs to Facebook, from recruitment to sales, and to global operations, indicating that this is not a local optimization of a single department but a reconfiguration across multiple lines.

In other words, the real signal from this Meta layoff is not "how many people the company laid off," but that even leading tech companies are continuously downsizing and adjusting resource allocation. Big companies no longer naturally equal stability, and this itself is a cautionary signal.

For International Students

Layoffs are Never Just about Losing a Job

For many international students, the path of development in the U.S. has always been relatively fixed: studying on F-1 → internship/work on OPT → lottery for H-1B → gradually resolve long-term identity issues.

This path was viewed by many as the "default path," but now, it increasingly resembles a high-volatility, high-uncertainty channel. Jobs themselves are already harder to find, and once layoffs occur, team shrinkage and position cancellations affect not only career development but instantly impact identity arrangements.

This is why layoffs in big companies often have a greater psychological impact on international students. While local employees might lose just a job, international students could also lose the window to stay in the U.S., subsequent visa connections, and even their entire medium and long-term plans.

When Jobs are No Longer Stable

It's Not Just Ability that Decides the Future

More and more people are realizing today that the underlying logic for long-term development in the U.S. has changed. In the past, people thought that if you first get a good education, then secure an internship and a job, identity issues could be dealt with later. But in a context of increased layoffs, job volatility, and frequent company strategy shifts, this path is becoming increasingly passive.

As long as identity is highly dependent on the employer, one can quickly lose autonomy if the external environment changes. Ultimately, what is truly needed for studying abroad in the U.S. today is not just a job opportunity, but a foundation of identity that is not easily disrupted by external fluctuations.

Identity Planning is Moving Forward

The Real Value of EB-5 is Becoming More Prominent

As job stability decreases and employer variables increase, more and more families in the U.S. and international student families are re-examining long-term identity solutions. The reason EB-5 continues to attract attention is primarily because it can help applicants maintain stability in identity even when job changes occur.

Under new laws, applicants can perform "concurrent filing" in the U.S., meaning applicants with no backlog can simultaneously file I-526E immigration petitions and I-485 adjustment of status applications, while also applying for travel authorization I-131 and work permit I-765, gaining earlier flexibility in work, travel, and life arrangements in the U.S.

According to the current visa bulletin, the EB-5 reserved visa category remains without a backlog, and rural projects enjoy priority review advantages. Meanwhile, window periods under the current policy framework still exist but won't last long term. The grandfather clause will expire on September 30; the minimum investment amount may increase from $800,000 to $900,000 or even higher as of January 1, 2027, and the future risk of backlogs in reserved categories is rising, so completing arrangements sooner is often more favorable for placing identity planning in a more proactive position.