Each year, thousands of Indians return home after years abroad, carrying global degrees, international work experience, and the expectation that India’s booming economy will welcome them back. For many, the assumption is that what worked overseas should translate into opportunity at home. But for some returnees, the transition has proven far more difficult. The story of Aaradhyaa Khodaria, returning to India after six years in the United States clearly tells us the same.
Building a life in the United States
Aaradhyaa moved to the US in 2019 to pursue a Master’s in Information Systems at the University of San Francisco. The academic experience was demanding and immersive, grounded in hands-on projects and real-world applications. Early into her program, she secured on-campus roles, first as a teaching assistant and later as a research assistant and social media coordinator, allowing her to earn and gain professional exposure within months of arrival.
She graduated with a 3.93 GPA, earned Beta Gamma Sigma honours, an international recognition awarded to top-performing business students and received the Dean’s Outstanding Public Service Award for her contributions to both the university and the wider community.
After graduation, she joined a FAANG company in Seattle. “After graduation, I landed my dream role at a FAANG company in Seattle, working at the intersection of data, technology, and creativity,” she said.
The work was demanding but fulfilling. She built a routine that balanced professional ambition with personal life. She moved into her own apartment overlooking the city skyline, a long-held personal goal. “Even everyday chores never felt like a burden,” she recalled in an interview with the Financial Express. For her, independence was not just financial, but emotional.”
What was the turning point?
The dream and stability collapsed all of a sudden when her role was unexpectedly terminated. This was followed by a prolonged period of job applications, interviews, and rejections, compounded by visa constraints. As a professional whose work leaned toward the non-technical side, she found it increasingly difficult to secure roles that offered sponsorship.
Regardless of clearing multiple interview rounds, positions were frequently put on hold, closed, or filled internally. All the while, rent and living expenses continued to drain her savings.
“I cleared multiple interview rounds, only for roles to be suddenly closed, put on hold, or filled internally. I lived in constant fear of losing everything, knowing how much was at stake. Meanwhile, my savings began to drain as I continued paying rent and daily expenses,” she recalled. As her visa approached its expiry, she made the decision to return to India, boarding a one-way flight after six years abroad.
The broken ‘American dream’
Back in India, Aaradhyaa continued interviewing with US companies, as her H-1B visa remained valid. However, a newly introduced rule requiring employers to pay a $100,000 fee for filing visa petitions for candidates outside the US effectively ended those conversations. Interview processes stopped mid-way, and communication ceased. With that, her US job search came to an abrupt close.
Shifting focus to India appeared logical. She did not require visa sponsorship and had experience managing high-impact projects at scale. However, months of applications yielded very few interview callbacks, even when applying through referrals or targeting roles aligned with her background.
In one case, she was told she was “overqualified” for a position that required exactly the experience she had. A 1.5-year gap on her resume, a consequence of layoffs, visa timelines, and prolonged job searches, appeared to act as an unspoken filter. “It feels like a silent rejection rather than something openly discussed,” she says.
There were other, less explicit barriers. Recruiters appeared hesitant about salary expectations, questioned long-term retention, and struggled to map her for a good role. “Additionally, many job descriptions show a strong preference for candidates with direct Indian market experience. Combined with an extremely competitive market, this has made the job search far more challenging than I initially expected,” she sais.
Life after moving to India
Away from professional pressures, returning home offered a different kind of relief. Being closer to family, celebrating festivals together, and stepping away from visa deadlines allowed her to recover mentally and physically. During this period, she launched a marketing and events company as a side venture and started a community group for people who, like her, had moved back to India after living abroad.
Now 30, Aaradhyaa finds herself rebuilding a life she once thought was already established. The certainty she worked years to create disappeared quickly, replaced by an in-between phase with no clear timeline or destination. Still, she remains measured in her outlook. She is focusing on what she can control, building incrementally, and staying open to paths she did not originally plan for.