'At least 3 fewer Indians': Woman's post on Meta layoff affecting H-1B visa holder with wife and kid in Seattle draws flak

A woman’s post on an Indian engineer losing his job in the recent Meta layoff went viral as many people celebrated that now there will be three fewer Indians in the US and the man may have to pack his bags along with his wife and child from the US. The post, if not fictitious, however, had a strong suggestion that the man was in Bengaluru, India as it said that the Meta layoff mail hit his inbox at 11pm Indian time.“His wife is on H-4. His kid is in 3rd grade in Seattle. His Bellevue apartment lease has 8 months left. His H-1B clock just started ticking — 60 days. Meta’s stock went up on the news. Zuck called it becoming more efficient. This is what AI transformation actually looks like for 2 lakh Indians abroad. AI impact on Indians abroad is highest,” the post written by X user Shveta said.

30-year plan on a 3-year visa: Strong social media reactions

While the post was meant to harp on the devastating impact Meta employees had as they received the layoff mail, social media users celebrated the job loss of an Indian and wondered why he had such an elaborate plan in the US while he was just on a work visa.“It’s strange that he bought an apartment on H1B knowing he can be kicked out anytime from USA. H1B frankly is a temporary visa but people are now thinking as it is a Green Card equivalent. Strange!” one wrote.Calling this a sob story, one user opined that H-1B visa holders should believe that they are one email away from disaster. “NRIs had the option to move to Canada and get a PR and then settle yet they decided to stay in US for higher pay. They picked this risk knowing very well the downsides of the event,” the user wrote.“Luckily for them foreign workers have a home country to return to, Americans don’t. This is it. A temporary visa is a gamble that they knowingly made for their family,” another wrote.“That’s at least 3 fewer Indians,” one celebrated.