After spending 12 years in the US, a startup co-founder has announced that he is moving to India, saying that maintaining legal status had increasingly become a constraint on how he planned his life and career. Karan Patil, co-founder and head of product at a US-based startup, shared the decision in a post on X that has since sparked discussion online.
“I’m moving back to India after 12 years in the US,” Patil wrote in the X post.
The co-founder explained his decision, saying that he had always tried to make choices based on long-term strategy rather than necessity, but found that increasingly difficult while navigating immigration requirements. “Always act from strategy, not compulsion. But that was becoming harder to do. Instead of strategizing toward a meaningful life, preserving legal status became the outcome I HAD to optimize for,” he wrote.
Patil added that he was returning to India with a new purpose. “I’m heading home now. For a new mission but with a freedom the “land of the free” had slowly been sucking out of me,” he said.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Patil is based in Tempe, Arizona. Responding to questions about his time in the US, he clarified that he had not spent the entire period working on a temporary visa.
{{/usCountry}}According to his LinkedIn profile, Patil is based in Tempe, Arizona. Responding to questions about his time in the US, he clarified that he had not spent the entire period working on a temporary visa.
{{/usCountry}}After one X user questioned why foreign workers were being allowed to stay in the US for 12 years, Patil responded by outlining his academic and professional journey. “Because you’re curious I’ll clarify. I wasn’t a worker for 12 years. I finished school and then a PhD in which I built a safety training system for construction workers which such took up 9 years. And then spent 3 years building a startup. So your assumptions and consequent conclusions are flawed,” he wrote.
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How did social media react?
The post drew a wide range of reactions online.
“Happy for you Karan. No point hanging around for the axe to fall and constantly live in uncertainty. Best of luck. Yes it's challenging, but you were born there. It'll become easy in no time,” one user wrote.
“Take your skills and build something great in India. You can do it! I have no idea why everybody is being so mean to you in these responses,” commented another.
“Freedom is in the mind. If you have it, it cannot be taken from you. If you don’t have it, it can never be yours. It’s a blessing and curse at the same time. I’m an immigrant, and I came to the US because it’s the only place I could be who I really am,” wrote a third user.
“I’ve been here for like 10 years as well and totally understand this. Good luck. This country is gonna look back after 5 years and regret in some capacity because the people that can leave will leave,” commented one user.