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Indian techie who lived and worked in the US for over 10 years shares what made him move back
The techie said the move was driven more by loneliness, family realities and immigration uncertainty than by professional factors.
A tech professional who lived and worked in the United States for more than a decade has opened up about why he decided to return to India despite a stable career and comfortable salary abroad. Speaking on the Desi Return podcast on YouTube, Ravi said the move was driven more by loneliness, family realities and immigration uncertainty than by professional factors. The biggest trigger, he said, was emotional.
“Before COVID, I had many friends living around the area where I worked. Once COVID hit, many of them got married or moved to other locations. After a while, it started to feel lonely,” he said on the Desi Return podcast. He shared that the phase began as temporary, but slowly turned into a constant feeling. “We always felt extremely lonely, and that became a major trigger to move back to India,” he said.
Ravi said he was never “fully settled” in the US mentally, and the feeling intensified after marriage and children. The distance from ageing parents and the growing disconnect between grandparents and grandchildren weighed heavily on him. “Parents age quickly, children grow quickly, and the disconnect kept widening,” he said.
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H-1B visa struggles
Immigration uncertainty was another major factor. Ravi, who was on an H-1B visa, pointed to the long green card backlog for Indians. “If your goal is to get a green card, the current wait time is around 150 to 190 years,” he said bluntly, adding that he would not recommend moving to the US if permanent settlement is the goal. He also spoke about being treated like a “temporary worker” and experiencing “subtle, silent discrimination”.
Further, Ravi noted that career flexibility was limited by visa rules. He said 4 years of his career went by before his I-140 process even started. A high-paying job offer was later rescinded because the employer did not have enough time to get approvals. “That experience left me feeling stuck,” he said.
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Why staying in US did not make financial sense?
Financially too, the equation shifted. Ravi said his salary rose from about $90,000 in 2016 to $140,000 later, but inflation erased most real gains, while expenses such as housing and groceries surged. As the sole earner, “it did not make much sense to continue staying in the US,” he said.
There were also stressful visa episodes, including a denied extension that forced him to pack overnight and leave the US to avoid unlawful presence. Though he later returned, the uncertainty stayed with him.
Once the family decided to move back to India, the process took about three months. They shipped only items with sentimental value, sold most belongings and rented out their US home.
Ravi now works remotely from Hyderabad, travels occasionally to Bengaluru, and says the move was not about abandoning the American dream but about choosing family, stability and emotional well-being after years on an H-1B visa.
