The Weight of the In-Between

It was 5 AM, November 9th of 2022, my one-month-old daughter asleep. The layoff email would be there or it wouldn't. I'd trained myself for years not to check emails and messages before 10 AM, but with a newborn and a work visa hanging by a thread, anxiety assumed its seat, as it often does.

"Your job was not affected by Meta Layoffs." My body shook with relief, though I knew many colleagues wouldn't be so “lucky”. This was my tenth time navigating layoffs across my 15-ish year career as a product designer, and the third time while holding a temporary US visa, without any family nearby, and a newborn to take care of. And I would still survive another round of the 2022-2023 tech layoffs.

My journey with immigration started in 2013, after my first job as a product designer, at Peixe Urbano, where I had the opportunity to work alongside American designers and product managers, and had to learn English on the fly (thanks google translator and patient people). Working with people from other cultures made me realize that living and working in Rio was just the “easy”, default option.

After 2+ years at Peixe, I decided on a simple goal: I would start contracting for US companies and try to get a work visa to live there. Four years of visa applications and remote contracts followed. And a lot of traveling as I would go to sprints, company celebrations or just to work for a month abroad. In some ways, I was lucky to have mastered the art of remote work before it was cool or mandatory. Pond5, then Celery, then Indiegogo, where I finally was able to get my hands on a H1B and in 2018, move to San Francisco with my wife.

When I joined Facebook Meta, in 2019, I naively assumed obtaining a green card would be straightforward. In reality, I discovered that Meta's immigration team was fighting the DOL over gaming the system. The company strategically posted job listings in less visible locations, a tactic common among tech firms. However, Meta faced penalties that significantly impacted employees' green card timelines. The subsequent pandemic and tech layoffs further complicated my immigration journey, adding blocks of six-month delays for each event.

By late 2024, after “surviving” layoffs but not the bureaucracy of a soon-to-be-expired work visa, I faced a choice: relocation to Canada or return to Brazil. Prioritizing my daughter's stability, the decision made itself (it was still excruciating to outline all options and make a final decision).

Readjusting to life in Rio, after almost a decade in the US, is… harder than I expected in the mind and the body (so, so hot). The best way I found to express to others is that I have, in many ways, downgraded core quality of life aspects, like safety and city infra-structure.

On a positive side, It is great (like REALLY GREAT) not to have to think about visas, SF rent, and the bureaucracy that comes with a FANG job. Meta was great, but I grew very tired of waking up most days to perform unnecessary alignment meetings instead of spending time actually designing. I suddenly have a lot more space to focus on family, new projects and what the next chapter in my career looks like.