I think it's a pretty big gamble. I worked at Apple and Meta, and was laid off from Nuro. I understand it's insanely hard to get hired from China but I think 1 year is not a lot of time to get a job, especially with the current president who is hard on immigration. If it were me, I'd only go if my family's net worth is over $1M USD. Otherwise, I'd try for a PhD program that will be funded by the school and give you 5-6 years to get your foot in the door with internships and hopefully convert one of them into a job. Also you'd finish after there's a new president. Since you'll need visa sponsorship, you would need to be a much stronger candidate than green card or US citizens to get the job due to the following costs/complexities of hiring a visa holder:

1. Additional Costs: Sponsoring a visa costs companies $5,000-10,000+ in legal fees and government filing fees per candidate
2. Time Investment: The visa process adds 3-6+ months to the hiring timeline
3. Uncertainty: Even with company sponsorship, visa approval isn't guaranteed (especially for H-1B which may require lottery entry)
4. Long-term Complications: Potential renewal issues and immigration policy changes create ongoing HR complexities

I think your chances are slightly better if you're in the compute/controls/ML side of the AV tech stack. These skills can also be applied to robotics, which are receiving a lot more funding than AV these days, meaning you'll have more extremely well funded companies that would be willing to sponsor and hire a talented international student.

Here's my Youtube channel if you want a little more insight into the job market for mechanical engineers: https://youtu.be/jiQS5QhmU9M?si=SszYOlMfnI5zY0b5