Indian techie faces visa and job stress in US, weighs options to move back to India: ‘I am scared’
Worn out by the harsh job market in the United States, an Indian technology professional on a STEM OPT extension expressed their thoughts about possibly returning to India.
In a recent post on social media titled, “Planning to return back to India, the job market here in the US is taking a toll on me,” the techie explained that they came to the US four years ago and secured employment shortly after graduating, but had to leave that position due to funding challenges and concerns regarding immigration. However, HT.com cannot independently verify the authenticity of the Redditor’s claims.
NRI unable to find job in US
According to the Reddit post, the NRI has been seeking a new position for approximately a year and have had several discussions. However, they employers were not inclined to hire the NRI due to the fact that “I have around a year more left on my visa.”
“Went onsite for an interview from an internal referral, cleared 5 rounds, they were ready to sponsor me(this was before this years lottery), it dragged on and the legal team backed off as I had only one attempt left.”
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NRI seeking employment in India
While the US job market was not presenting any suitable opportunities, the tech professional stated that applying to companies in India was proving effective, though with a caveat.
“Since about two weeks I have been applying in India and got around 5-6 calls back (I have my mother’s number listed), but when I call them back through my US number, they are not really interested in someone who is not already in India,” the teach professional explained.
The NRI mentioned that they were at a pivotal point regarding their future and were concerned that not relocating to India at this juncture, when they were garnering responses, might have negative repercussions in the long term.
The user further opened up about their fear and sought advise from people, “I am scared I won’t get this response again from India but I’m also scared of moving back permanently and have trouble playing my loan off. Please advise me what to do and how the job market is in India.”
Redditors react: ‘You need to stay mentally strong’
As the post garnered attention, users on social media highlighted that going back to India would assist them in evading the ongoing stress associated with visas.
“This visa stress is truly the most harmful one from both the mental and physical side. You need to stay mentally strong. These technologies keep changing faster than we can catch up. I would say, get rid of these stresses, and if you have a supportive system back home, start a career there,” one person said.
“I’m in a kinda similar situation OP. I have a job, but missed my first H1B attempt because my company said they would not sponsor. I need to find a new job asap so I don’t miss the next lottery,” another commented.
“You are getting calls in India, which is a good sign. Move back and live happily without the constant visa stress,” a third user stated.