Hello [FORMATTED_FIRST_NAME GOES HERE],

Happy Wednesday. ✨

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The Open Atlas Weekly Bulletin

Laid Off on an H-1B? Here Are Your Smartest Backup Options

Indian Grad Enrollment in the US Drops 9.5% Amid Visa Scrutiny

Aravind Srinivas: The Founders Who Win Are the Ones Who Obsess

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Now, onto the newsletter.

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🧑‍🎓 Student's hub: Scholarships, guides & resources

​Indian Grad Enrollment in the US Drops 9.5% Amid Visa Scrutiny and Consulate Closures​

Indian enrollment in US master’s and doctoral programs fell 9.5% in 2024–25, dropping from 196,567 to 177,892 students, per the Open Doors 2025 report. Stricter visa checks, social media scrutiny, high rejection rates and temporary consulate closures were major factors. Students also shifted toward Canada, Europe, West Asia and emerging Asian hubs with lower costs and clearer pathways. Overall Indian numbers in the US did rise 9%, but almost entirely due to a 47% surge in OPT participation rather than new grad enrollments. Experts expect Fall 2026 graduate intake to stay flat. Interesting read.

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​A Free Berkeley Course on Deep Unsupervised Learning You Shouldn’t Miss​

UC Berkeley’s “Deep Unsupervised Learning” (Spring 2020) is one of the strongest open courses for students looking to understand generative AI. The playlist covers autoregressive models, VAEs, flow models, GANs, self-supervised learning, semi-supervised techniques, compression, language models and representation learning for reinforcement learning. Taught by Pieter Abbeel, it offers a clear path through both the fundamentals and the modern methods behind today’s generative systems.

A solid resource for anyone building their foundations in AI.

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📗 Immigration desk: Visa news, options & updates

​USCIS Raises Select Immigration Fees for FY 2026 After Inflation Adjustment​

USCIS has announced small fee increases for several immigration forms beginning January 1, 2026. Most changes are modest, with bumps of 2 to 10 dollars for certain work permits, TPS applications, and re-parole requests. Some fees stay the same, including the main asylum application fee and renewals of asylum-based work permits. Anyone filing after January 1 will need to use the updated amounts.
A quick update to keep in mind if you have applications coming up.

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​Laid Off on an H-1B? Here Are Your Smartest Backup Options​

H-1B professionals remain vulnerable to layoffs, and losing a job starts a short grace period to find alternatives. Several backup options can help maintain legal status. Switching to B-2 visitor status offers a few extra months to plan. Moving to F-1 status works for those open to studying. H-4 is a safe path if a spouse holds an H-1B. Leaving the US within the grace window also protects status, though returning on a new H-1B may trigger the 100,000 dollar fee rule. A quick overview to keep in mind during uncertain moments.

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💫 Founder's corner: Resources, capital & growth hacks

​The Smart Way for Founders to Prepare for Fundraising​

In this article, Jeff Erickson breaks down what founders often miss when raising capital. He touches on how to prepare before pitching, what really matters in a pitch deck and why clean financials and steady investor updates shape momentum. The piece also offers practical guidance on financial models, data rooms and knowing when to bootstrap versus raise.

Founders, check it out.

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​Aravind Srinivas: The Founders Who Win Are the Ones Who Obsess​

In a recent interview, Perplexity cofounder Aravind Srinivas shared a pointed message for early founders. Your only real advantage is being genuinely obsessed with the problem you are solving. Markets will shift, competitors will copy you and big players will chase anything that hits meaningful revenue. Strategy alone will not save you. What matters is caring about the problem more than anyone else and going deeper than others are willing to go. In the end, it is a bet on yourself and the persistence to keep going even when the odds turn.
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A reminder that most breakthroughs come from founders who simply stay obsessed.

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👉 Want to put yourself in front of 36,000+ high-skilled immigrants? Just hit reply to start a conversation.

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Until next week, stay awesome.

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Yours truly,

Team Open Atlas 💙

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💡 None of the information shared in this newsletter is meant to be legal advice. If you're looking for legal advice, speak to a lawyer.

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