A Malaysian CEO of Indian descent opened up about being the subject of a “scary experience” at an airport in the United States. Being an O-1 visa holder, Vishen Lakhiana graduated from the University of Michigan, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The Indian-origin entrepreneur is the founder and the CEO of Mindvalley, the self-described “world’s largest personal growth platform.” Merely a day ago, he shared an unprecedented account, which is no longer all that shocking in light of US President Donald Trump’s ramped-up immigration crackdown in the country.
On Friday, Lakhiani, who is also an author, took to his personal Instagram to divulge that he had been stopped by the FBI upon his arrival in “Trump’s USA.”
Indian-origin CEO stopped by FBI at US airport
The unprovoked development unravelled at a Miami airport. Expressing his rather vocally-critical stance against Trump, Vishen wrote on Instagram, “I arrived in America and got stopped by the FBI at the airport even though I have an O-1 visa, which is a visa for people of extraordinary talent.”
Spelling out his identity for those unfamiliar with his work, the Indian-origin Mindvalley founder introduced himself as “the CEO of an American company with 230 employees globally and have been paying American taxes for 22 years.”
Baring his heart in a video message, Vishen said that he was “greeted” by two FBI agents as soon as he got off the plane at the US airport. While it’s nothing out of the ordinary to see even valid visa-holders facing scrutiny in America nowadays, Lakhiani was visibly baffled by what had struck him. He went on to call out the “fearmongering, the xenophobia” happening in the US “towards immigrants, people who come from foreign countries.”
The O-1 visa holder attributed the same as the reason behind the declining numbers of tourists coming to the US and foreign students applying to American universities. And so, he let out a heavy sigh, and vented about how he couldn’t wait for “the next election,” as “men with no idea on how to navigate the future are vilifying anyone” on the basis of one’s looks.
‘Scary experience’ as FBI questioned him right after landing
“Pressing the fear button is the easiest way to gain votes when you have no talent,” he firmly said of the Trump administration. Calling the whole affair of being questioned by the FBI a “scary experience,” he shared that the authorities were keen on finding out about his globe-trotting adventures. Lakhiani disclosed he’d been many places, including Dubai, Istanbul and Brazil over the years.
“For the record, Turkey and Brazil music festivals,” he added. “I love music. Dubai, it’s now the global centre of capitalism,” Vishen weighed in on choices he’d made due to his personal preferences.
As part of the whole interrogation process, FBI agents wanted him to list all his social media profiles. On top of that, the Mindvalley CEO claimed that he even had to give out his “WhatsApp number” to the authorities.
Sending out a message to others, he proclaimed in the video, “If you’re American, I hop you learn how to identify candidates that actually align with American values, freedom, democracy, pro-immigration, entrepreneurship, diversity, and I hope you learn how to vote right and you are able to understand the difference between ideas that actually push the nation forward and fearmonger.”
Lakhiana still shared words of affirmation for the FBI agents, calling them “nice” and “super kind,” as he acknowledge that they were only doing their job. He concluded his confession, saying that he really dreaded visiting America nowadays.
The video quickly gained traction on social media, especially after some news outlets also picked it up for coverage. Bewildered by the response, Vishen wrote on his Instagram Stories, “Wow, 900k views in 24 hrs.”
“Wasn’t expect this type of response and you can expect me to create a lot more videos to sway people way from MAGA.”
What is O-1 visa?
As Vishen rightly said in his video, the O-1 nonimmigrant visa is for someone who possesses “extraordinary” ability. “Where?” you may ask. In the fields of sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, according to the official US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website.
The government website further states that these abilities may also correlate to a “demonstrated record extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognised nationally or internationally for those achievements.”
Even the O-1 visa is classified into two categories: O-1A and O-1B. The first one is for pertains to those with “extraordinary ability” in sciences, education, business or athletics, the second is for those demonstrating such abilities in the arts or “extraordinary achievement” in motion picture of TV industry.
The extent of “extraordinariness” here indicates that the individual belong to the small percentage who have climbed to the very top of the said field.
Are the Indian-origin CEO’s claims about dropping tourism, foreign students in the US true?
Tourism decline report: According to the US Travel Association, a travel forecast published in October 2025 showed that inbound international visits were projected to decline 6.3% (from 72.4 million to 67.9 million) this year. “Total inbound travel spending is forecast to fall 3.2% to $173 billion for the year,” it further added.
US government data indicated that the country saw about 1 million fewer international visitors in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year. When compared to 2019, research firm Tourism Economics’ president Adam Sacks said that the drop would be as wide as 13 million fewer international visitors by the end of 2025, as per CNBC.
Student arrivals in the US: Based on the US govt’s records, the number of foreign student arrivals in the country in August fell by 19% in 2025 as compared to 2024. The New York Times reported it as the “largest decline on record outside of the pandemic.” The biggest drop (24%) was seen in students coming from Asia, and even therein, Indian student arrivals fell by 44% in August 2025 as opposed to where they stood in August 2024.
The significant decline was even eye-widening as August generally stands tall as the month when most international students arrive in the US right ahead of the fall semester.