Day: August 17, 2025

• Surbhi Madan, a Google software engineer, has been on an H1-B visa for 12 years.
• While the visa has enabled her to grow her career, it also leaves her with a sense of instability.
• The visa has affected everything from the leases she signs to whether she will freeze her eggs.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Surbhi Madan, 30, a senior software engineer at Google. She lives in New York. It has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified her employment and visa details.

I came to the US in 2013 to pursue a bachelor’s at Brown University. I was inspired by my older brother, who went to the US for his master’s and liked the teaching approach.

College was a big cultural adjustment, and I wasn’t prepared for how cold the East Coast got. Still, I loved building an independent life, finding new hobbies, and meeting people from all over the world.

During my four years of college, I didn’t think seriously about my long-term future in the US.

I interned at Google’s New York office one summer and landed a full time offer with the company a semester before I graduated. I kicked off the process for my Optional Practical Training and received my H-1B visa in the lottery on my first try.

While the one-third probability of getting picked in the lottery remains the same since I applied in 2017, the job market when I graduated felt better. Companies were hiring and willing to sponsor H-1B applications. I feel like I got really lucky when I compare it to the situation for recent graduates now.

Long-term stability

I’ve been with Google for eight years and have grown to become a senior software engineer.

I’m in a phase of my life where I’m thinking about long-term stability. I’m looking for leadership roles and have considered a career change.

In college, I was a teaching assistant, and I still volunteer for teaching opportunities, especially for women in tech causes. I’ve thought about pivoting into a teacher career or pursuing teaching opportunities along with a full-time job, but a work visa like the H-1B doesn’t allow for either of those options.

I enjoy my work, but there is an internal expectation to do well because my performance is the only thing in my hands. I cannot control the economy or the layoffs that have been sweeping tech.

I’m not putting down roots

I’ve been living in the US for 12 years. My challenges feel very different from my friends who are US citizens.

I have friends involved in activities like bike lane advocacy in New York. I refrain from volunteering because it means contacting my immigration lawyer to make sure it’s safe to get involved.

I’m anxious about making mistakes when I drive or file taxes because I don’t want anything to threaten my stay in the country.

Because of the visa, my life in the US feels temporary.

I have friends who are buying apartments. I find it hard to put down permanent roots. I have an option to renew my apartment lease for one or two years, and I always choose one year because I never know how long I’ll be allowed to live in the US.

One time, I was returning to the US after traveling abroad. At immigration, a US border officer asked me about the purpose of my visit, to which I replied, “I live here.” I remember him saying, “You don’t live here; you work here,” which left a mark on me. I remember thinking: “It’s true.”

My visa has become a consideration in my family planning, too.

I’m 30, and I have been looking into egg freezing as an option. While researching the process, I thought about what would happen if I no longer had working rights in the US and wanted to retrieve the eggs.

I had this vision of rolling into the US on a tourist visa with a suitcase to pick up my eggs, and I thought: “It’s not worth it.” I also can’t imagine having a person depend on me while I’m on a temporary status tied to having a job.

Once a year, I sit down and have a check-in with myself. I take into account the last few years, and the anxiety I feel about the future, and ask myself if this is still worth it. The answer has been yes — so far.

On the days I feel anxious, I try to refocus on the things in my control. I also have a decent financial cushion by now, which is another benefit of working in tech in the US for eight years.

This story is part of a project on the experiences of Indian H-1B holders working in tech. Read the full story here.

• The White House AI advisor discussed “AI psychosis” on a recent podcast.
• David Sacks said he doubted the validity of the concept.
• He compared it to the “moral panic” that surrounded earlier tech leaps, like social media.

AI can create a diet plan, organize a calendar, and provide answers to an endless variety of burning questions. Can it also cause a psychiatric breakdown?

David Sacks, the White House official spearheading America’s AI policies, doesn’t think so. President Donald Trump’s AI and crypto czar discussed “AI psychosis” during an episode of the “All-In Podcast” published Friday.

While most people engage with chatbots without a problem, a small number of users say the bots have encouraged delusions and other concerning behavior. For some, ChatGPT serves as an alternative to professional therapists.

A psychiatrist earlier told Business Insider that some of his patients exhibiting what’s been described as “AI psychosis,” a nonclinical term, used the technology before experiencing mental health issues, “but they turned to it in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it supercharged some of their vulnerabilities.”

During the podcast, Sacks doubted the whole concept of “AI psychosis.”

“I mean, what are we talking about here? People doing too much research?” he asked. “This feels like the moral panic that was created over social media, but updated for AI.”

Sacks then referred to a recent article featuring a psychiatrist, who said they didn’t believe using a chatbot inherently induced “AI psychosis” if there aren’t other risk factors — including social and genetic — involved.

“In other words, this is just a manifestation or outlet for pre-existing problems,” Sacks said. “I think it’s fair to say we’re in the midst of a mental health crisis in this country.”

Sacks attributed the crisis instead to the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns. “That’s what seems to have triggered a lot of these mental health declines,” he said.

After several reports of users suffering mental breaks while using ChatGPT, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed the issue on X after the company rolled out the highly anticipated GPT-5.

“People have used technology, including AI, in self-destructive ways; if a user is in a mentally fragile state and prone to delusion, we do not want the AI to reinforce that,” Altman wrote. “Most users can keep a clear line between reality and fiction or role-play, but a small percentage cannot.”

Earlier this month, OpenAI introduced safeguards in ChatGPT, including a prompt encouraging users to take breaks after long conversations with the chatbot. The update will also change how the chatbot responds to users asking about personal challenges.