This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rafa Maximo, 38, who lives in Miami and worked at Meta. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
When I joined Facebook in 2018, it felt like a big deal. I lived in Brazil at the time, where there were fewer opportunities at such big companies.
My job was to train media agencies and professionals in Latin America to use our tools for advertising. After roughly a year, the company offered to transfer me to the US.
I was not only willing to relocate to take the opportunity to grow my career, but to pivot my entire life around it. I left for Miami in 2019.
It wasn’t until November 2022, when Meta conducted a mass layoff, that I realized how closely my life was tied to the company as a visa holder.
Witnessing mass layoffs was very scary as a visa holder
I went to the US on an L-1 visa, which is for internal company transfers, and my wife became my dependent on an L-2. Unlike an H-1B, you can’t switch employers on an L-1 without applying for a new visa. I didn’t mind not really having the option to move companies, because I really loved my job and felt I had access to good opportunities at Meta.
We agreed that my wife would pause her career while we focused on relocating, and we had our daughter soon after.
I felt the weight of having an L-1 visa rather than an H-1B while on holiday in Brazil in 2022. I read in the news that Meta was planning to cut jobs. If I lost my job, I couldn’t transfer to another company as easily, and I’d likely have to try to change my immigration status.
Courtesy of Rafa Maximo.
The possibility of being laid off had never occurred to me because I couldn’t recall anything like this happening at Meta before. My teammates started messaging me, asking if it was real. When it dawned on me that it was, it was very scary.
I wondered if I would be able to go back to the US if I were laid off. What would happen to my lease, to my daughter who was enrolled at pre-school, and to my cat, who was in the US with her cat-sitter? Would I at least be able to get all my stuff back?
I didn’t even have a personal computer or cellphone anymore, because I left them behind when I moved to the US and used what the company provided. I realized how much my life was tied to Facebook.
The layoffs weren’t just about my job, but my life.
I wouldn’t advise building your identity around your employer
Not long after I found out I wasn’t impacted by the layoffs, I self-petitioned for a green card so I wouldn’t have to go through anything like that again.
I received permanent residency in 2025 and feel lighter and more in control. I resigned from Meta in 2024, and I’m now using my green card status to work as an independent AI marketing and digital growth advisor.
But there are still logistics to think about, like renewing my green card because I’m not yet a US citizen.
In today’s work environment, we don’t have control over a lot of things, and you can suddenly be laid off. My advice to visa holders in Big Tech is not to build their entire identities around the companies they work for.
Instead, build something within your company that will serve you if you were to lose your job. What will develop you as a professional?
We need to protect ourselves too, especially our minds, our health, and our families.
Do you have a story to share about being laid off on a visa? Contact this reporter at [email protected]
