Hey everyone, I’m in a pretty stressful situation right now and could really use some perspective.
Today I had a one on one with my manager and was told I’m being put on Pivot. I have 5 days to choose between the options.
Here’s what I was given:
Leave Amazon with a 60 day transition period. I’ll get full pay and benefits during this time and won’t be required to work.
Leave Amazon with a lump sum severance. He said it would be around $29k based on my base pay and tenure. He also said it’s non negotiable.
Go on a short PIP. He mentioned it would be just a couple of weeks with specific expectations. If I don’t meet them, I’d be let go with about $5.4k payout.
What really caught me off guard is the timing. I’m about to complete one year at Amazon in 2 weeks, and I have a small stock vest coming up, around $5k. It’s not huge, but in this situation it matters a lot. The timing just feels a bit too convenient.
Another big factor is visa. My H1B just got picked this year and it’s currently in processing. This was my last attempt. It only becomes active in October, so I need to stay employed until then for it to actually help me. If I leave now, I’m not sure what happens with it.
For context, I’m currently on STEM OPT (working in the U.S. on an F1 visa). So my work authorization is limited, and I only have around 8 to 9 months left.
I actually have an offer from Google for an L4 SWE-III role , but earlier they couldn’t onboard me before H1 filing, which is why I stayed at Amazon. Now I’m worried they may not take me since I only have limited work authorization left.
Also, last year I had an opportunity with Meta for an E4 software engineering role (cleared onsite and at team matching), but I couldn’t move forward because I only had around 23 months of work authorization left at the time and that they require 24 months at least . That experience is making me wonder if I’ll run into the same issue with Google now.
What also surprised me was the reason for Pivot. My manager said the main issue is communication, not technical performance. That honestly confused me. I went to a British school and speak fluent English, In fact I’ve been told that I have a great accent, so language itself has never been an issue for me. I’ve always felt like I communicate clearly and keep things concise, and I get my work done independently without needing much handholding.
I’m not someone who talks a lot in meetings or tries to overexplain or “market” every small thing I do. I usually keep my updates focused, structured, and to the point so the team can stay efficient. But it feels like that might have worked against me, especially in an environment where others tend to speak more and highlight their work more aggressively. From my perspective, I was being clear and effective, not lacking communication.
There are people on my team who speak much less or struggle more with communication, but they haven’t been put in this position. I’ve been consistent, rarely took time off, worked from office regularly, and stayed aligned with expectations as far as I knew.
Also, a couple of months ago I directly asked my manager if I was on Focus or at risk, and he said no. We’ve had regular one on ones since then and nothing was flagged until now.
I’ll be honest, I’m mentally drained at this point and part of me wants to just take the severance and move on. But the visa situation is what’s holding me back. If that wasn’t a factor, I probably would have already decided.
I’m trying to figure out:
Is there any way to extend or delay Pivot so I can stay until October and activate my H1B?
Would companies like Google even consider onboarding someone with less than a year of work authorization left?
Has anyone been in a similar situation and found a way through it?
I wanted to hear experiences from people who’ve been through this.
Appreciate any advice. This whole thing has been a lot to process.