[mkasu]

I'm not in the US, but as an immigrant myself I can say it's incredibly stressful to be on a working visa during job changes and during a period of unstable economy. Especially if you have family.

To be rational, I work in academia and I shouldn't need to worry too much about job safety and/or visa applications, but I still semi-regularly woke up at night from nightmares of my visa expiring, not being renewed, suddenly being deported, or similar stuff.

I got my permanent residence earlier this year and all of it stopped. It gives you some sense of stability/security. It also makes one feel a bit more accepted in society by not needing to leave it if a work agreement (for whatever reason) ends.

[lcedp]

I can relate.

I'm qualified to apply for a permanent residence in 4 months.

The worst thing is that if I get laid off, the 5-year clock resets, and it would waste almost 5 years.

Technically, it takes 45+ days to lay off someone. However, the application requires a letter from the employer to confirm I'm still needed at a job, which means the lay-off just a few days before the application could invalidate the application and has a potential to reset the clock.