After 11 years chasing the American Dream on H-1B, this techie moved back to India

A Redditor who spent 11 years in the US chasing what they called the American Dream, from education to a job to buying a car, has moved back to India permanently, describing the experience in a post that has resonated with others who have held H-1B visas.

“But if you have ever been on an H-1B visa, you know the truth. You are always one layoff or one lottery rejection away from packing your bags. The background anxiety never actually goes away,” the person wrote, now sitting in a cafe in Bangalore weighing whether to build something of their own or take a corporate job.

The moment that crystallised the change came while filling out a job application on an Indian portal and reaching the familiar visa question at the bottom of the page. “For over a decade in the US, that question was my nightmare,” they wrote, describing how checking ‘YES’ to needing visa sponsorship in the US made every application feel like a liability rather than an opportunity.

This time, faced with a similar question about work authorization in India, the Redditor clicked ‘No.’ “I cannot even describe the rush of emotion that hit me. I literally sat back and just stared at the screen for five minutes,” they wrote, adding that in America “your visa status always comes first, and your talent comes second,” while in India, “I am just a person with skills, looking to add value.”

The post did not gloss over the difficulties of the move, noting that “the reverse culture shock is definitely real,” with the traffic and humidity taking some adjustment. Even so, the Redditor concluded that submitting a job application “without the ghost of immigration hanging over my head” confirmed they had made the right choice.