An unexpected visa setback has pushed an Indian techie out of a high-paying US job and back to India, triggering a difficult phase marked by joblessness and financial strain. The individual, who was earning approximately $200,000 (around Rs 1.8 crore) annually, is now burdened with a Rs 40 lakh loan while struggling to secure a role in India’s demanding tech job market.
The experience came to light through a Reddit post titled “Forced return to India (H1B not picked). Struggling with brutal tech interviews,” where the techie candidly described the circumstances after missing out on the H-1B visa lottery.
The individual wrote, “My visa expired, and I didn’t get picked in the H-1B lottery. My US employer doesn’t have an India office, so an internal transfer or remote-from-India setup wasn’t an option. I had absolutely no choice but to pack up and move back.”
The abrupt shift from a stable, high-income role abroad to joblessness in India has created a significant financial burden. With a large loan still pending, the pressure to secure employment has intensified.
The techie also highlighted the unexpected difficulty of cracking interviews in India, noting that the process feels more rigorous compared to their experience in the US.
They shared, “To top it all off, I still have an outstanding loan of 40 Lakhs. The pressure of managing this debt without a job, while getting grilled in these intense interviews, is really starting to mess with my mental peace.”
According to the post, the Indian hiring process appears more demanding, with deeper technical questioning and higher expectations, leaving the candidate feeling underprepared despite prior international experience.
The post quickly gained traction online, prompting a flood of reactions ranging from criticism to practical advice.
“200k salary – how long did your have your job in USA? Its surprising that you have 40L loan even after that. I assume 200k in california – in hand definitely you should have been getting atleast 13-14k /month. Even if you spend half – you will be saving 7k a month (6.3 Lakhs). You should have cleared your loan in ~6 months. What the hell you were doing?” said one user.
“I suggest just take a pay cut. Why the 40L loan with a 2 cr salary in US?” said another.
“Man if i was making 200K USD the first thing i do was clear any outstanding loan to my name.. how come you have such a huge loan amount pending ?” a third user wrote.
“Not meaning to discourage OP, but I personally had a 50 lakh loan after my MS graduation, and had a 200k job. All I did for 6 months was beans and rice, rice and beans, shared a room, did not buy a car, worked my ass off to get a raise and just put everything I earned into finishing my loan….
Again, my advice would be to take whichever job u get your hands on, and pay that loan off. Banks are leeches when it comes to paying interest. All the best OP, I hope you will do well,” a fourth said.
“Temper your expectations, forget how much you earned in the US and research how much people with your level of experience are making in your domain and target that level of seniority and have salary expectations as per that level get your foot in the door and gain some experience while up skilling and compensation will sort itself out eventually, seek help from family if possible for the loan , above all believe in yourself and be patient,” said another.
“Indian interviews are very different and not in a good way. They expect you to remember all the trivia, syntax and will grill you on shit that isn’t really relevant. People get good ego boost from interviews and they would love to brag how they rejected a US returned guy. Look for US based companies that have hiring manager in US and operations in India. That’s how I got the job. Good luck,” another user commented.