An Indian-origin woman working at Microsoft in the United States shared her long and difficult journey to securing a green card. Aishani B, a senior software engineer, revealed that her H-1B visa application was rejected seven times before she finally obtained permanent residency.
A green card, officially known as the US Permanent Resident Card, allows a non-US citizen to live and work in the country permanently. In contrast, an H-1B visa permits foreign professionals to work in specialised roles but is temporary and typically issued for three years.
Aishani said that between 2019 and 2025, she entered the H-1B lottery seven times but was not selected even once. In a LinkedIn post, she wrote, “I entered the H1B lottery 7 times between 2019 and 2025. I didn’t get selected. Not once.”
She described how the repeated rejections affected her over time. While the first rejection was painful, she said she began to rationalise it by the second. As the rejections continued, she stopped sharing updates with others, not out of shame but because there was nothing new to say.
The tech professional also highlighted the emotional toll of repeated setbacks, noting that the experience gradually led to self-doubt. She said it was not a single moment of disappointment but a slow loss of certainty, which made her question her place in the US and how long she should keep trying.
In 2022, Aishani moved to Canada before returning to the United States in 2023 on an L-1 visa. During this period, Microsoft continued to file its H-1B applications.
Her persistence finally paid off in 2025 when she received her green card, a path she said she never expected after multiple rejections. Reflecting on her journey, she said the version of herself facing repeated failures felt exhausted rather than extraordinary.
Aishani added that a quiet sense of belief kept her going through the uncertainty. She said that in the gap between each rejection, she continued to build her skills and life, even when approval had not yet come.
She concluded her post by encouraging others not to focus only on the number of rejections, but on what they build along the way.