Laid off from Meta on an H1B. Here's the financial plan we built in 60 days.

The Situation

Rohan had been at Meta for six years. Senior software engineer, L6, based in Austin. Originally from Pune, he'd come to the US on an H1B visa — sponsored by Meta — and had his green card application pending in the EB-2 queue. Total comp hovered around $480K: roughly $190K in base salary, the rest in RSUs that vested quarterly. He'd built a good life: a home (mortgage in both his and his wife Sneha's names), a growing 401(k), an ESPP account he'd been quietly contributing to, and a rental property back in India that his parents managed. He had a CPA who filed his US returns and a Fidelity account where his vested shares sat — mostly in Meta stock.

Then in May, he got the email. His role was being eliminated as part of Meta's AI restructuring. Severance was 16 weeks of base pay plus four months of continued healthcare. But the gut punch wasn't just the job loss — it was everything layered on top: $400K in unvested RSUs that vanished overnight, a 60-day H1B grace period now ticking, a green card application that could be abandoned if he couldn't find a new sponsor in time, and the fact that nobody in his financial life had a plan for any of it.

The Gap We Found

Rohan wasn't starting from zero — he'd been responsible with money. But his entire financial setup was built for a life that assumed continuous employment at Meta and continued US residency. His CPA filed taxes after the fact but had never modeled what a layoff would mean mid-year: lower income creating a rare low-tax-bracket window, over-withheld estimated taxes from Q1 vesting, and a severance payout that would hit as ordinary income. His Fidelity account held $320K in Meta stock — now 62% of his investable portfolio — and nobody had flagged the concentration risk while he was employed.

But the bigger gap was the one nobody was even thinking about: what happens to his financial plan if the H1B grace period runs out? If Rohan had to leave the US, his 401(k), Roth IRA, brokerage accounts, home, and Indian rental property would all need to be restructured for a completely different tax jurisdiction. His CPA didn't handle cross-border planning. His Fidelity advisor didn't know about RNOR status. No one was modeling both scenarios — stay in the US vs. move back to India — in parallel. The pieces existed, but no one was looking at all of them together.

What We Did

First, we built two parallel plans: "Stay in the US" and "Move back to India." Most advisors would have waited to see what happened with the job search. We didn't. With a 60-day H1B grace period, Rohan needed clarity on both paths immediately — not after the clock ran out. We modeled every financial decision through both lenses so that each move we made would be smart regardless of which country he ended up in.

We stopped the bleeding on taxes. Rohan had already vested $95K in RSUs in Q1, with federal withholding at the supplemental rate of 22%. His actual marginal rate for the year had been 35%. But with the layoff in May and potentially no US employment income for the rest of the year, his projected annual income dropped significantly. We ran the numbers: his effective federal rate for 2026 would land closer to 24%. That meant he'd overpaid in Q1, and we could use the lower-income window strategically.

We executed a Roth conversion — and it worked for both scenarios. With seven months of reduced income ahead, Rohan had a rare opportunity to convert a portion of his traditional 401(k) to a Roth IRA at a much lower tax rate than he'd ever see again. We modeled a $75K conversion — calibrated to keep him in the 24% bracket. At his normal income, that same conversion would have cost him an extra $8,250 in federal taxes. And here's the cross-border insight: if Rohan does return to India, Roth IRA withdrawals are currently not taxed in India under the DTAA — making this conversion even more valuable as a tax-free retirement bucket in either country.

We tackled the Meta concentration. Rohan had been holding vested shares "because they'd go back up." With 62% of his portfolio in a single stock — at a company that just laid him off — the risk was no longer theoretical. We built a structured sell plan: liquidate $200K in Meta shares over 60 days, harvest any losses from lots that were underwater, and redeploy into a direct-indexed portfolio. The direct indexing generated an estimated $7,500 in annual tax-loss harvesting value going forward. This also simplified his portfolio for a potential cross-border transition — fewer concentrated positions means fewer headaches if he needs to restructure accounts from abroad.

We mapped the India-return scenario. If Rohan found a new US sponsor, great — the plan was already optimized. But if the grace period expired, we had the playbook ready: RNOR (Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident) status in India would give him a 2–3 year window where his US-sourced investment gains wouldn't be taxed in India. We identified which accounts to liquidate before departure, which to hold under RNOR, and how to handle the Indian rental property's reporting on his final US return. (For a deeper dive on cross-border planning for NRI couples, see our case study: An Indian-American couple finally got one plan for two countries.)

We secured the foundation. Rohan had no estate documents, no umbrella policy, and his beneficiary designations on the 401(k) were outdated. We set up a revocable living trust, updated all beneficiaries to include Sneha and their daughter, and right-sized his insurance — adding a $1M umbrella policy and adjusting his disability coverage for his new employment status.

The Result

Rohan found a new role at a Series C AI startup within 45 days — well inside the grace period. His H1B transfer went through. But even before that news came, he already had a plan that worked either way.

• $8,250 saved on the Roth conversion by using the low-income window (24% vs 35% bracket)
• $7,500/year in estimated ongoing tax-loss harvesting from the direct-indexed portfolio
• 62% → 28% single-stock concentration reduced to a diversified, tax-efficient portfolio
• Two parallel plans — US-stay and India-return scenarios fully modeled, so every decision was sound regardless of outcome
• Peace of mind — estate plan, insurance, beneficiaries updated, and cross-border playbook ready if ever needed again

Why This Worked

Rohan didn't need a new financial advisor — he needed someone who could see all the pieces at once, including the ones most advisors never touch. His CPA was excellent at filing returns but didn't do cross-border modeling. His Fidelity account was fine for holding shares but nobody connected the dots between his severance timing, tax bracket, concentration risk, H1B clock, RNOR eligibility, and the rare Roth conversion window that a layoff creates. That's what Alphanso's integrated model does: one team, looking at payroll, brokerage, tax data, and immigration timeline together — making moves that only make sense when you can see the full picture across borders. And because Alphanso charges a flat fee — not a percentage of assets — the advice was always aligned with Rohan's interests, not ours.

If you're navigating a layoff — especially on an H1B — and want someone to look at the full picture, request a callback.

Related reading

• The RSU Tax Withholding Conundrum: What Every Amazon and Meta Employee Should Know — understand why your employer withholds at 22% when you owe 35%+
• An Indian-American couple finally got one plan for two countries — a deeper look at cross-border wealth planning for NRI families considering relocation
• Navigating Market Volatility: 5 Strategies to Protect Your Portfolio — portfolio protection strategies during uncertain times

This case study is a composite illustration based on real Alphanso client scenarios. Names and identifying details have been changed for privacy. Results are not guaranteed and will vary based on individual circumstances. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Alphanso LLC is a registered investment adviser.