For two years, Madhur Mehta had lived the immigrant life in the United States the way many Indians do carefully, anxiously, always aware that a random lottery could decide whether the life he was building would continue to exist. By the time the second rejection arrived, he had already survived delayed visas, a lost scholarship, financial uncertainty, and a job offer that disappeared one day after graduation. But the second time the H-1B rejection was different. This forced him to confront something he had been avoiding for years, what if America simply never chose him back? So, he began researching other countries. Other visa pathways. Other futures.
Not because he wanted to leave, but because survival demands backup plans when your entire life depends on chance. However, he filed one more H-1B application to test his luck for one last time.
Cut to 2026, today he works as an AI Program Manager at Amazon, has presented research at the ICLR 2026 Workshop on Logical Reasoning of Large Language Models and was even featured on Times Square for his work helping aspiring immigrants and tech professionals. But none of it came in a straight line.
The dream that the pandemic interrupted
Back in 2019, Madhur had what most ambitious Indian students would call a carefully designed life plan. Born and raised in Delhi, he was working in data analytics at an insurance company when he decided to pursue an MS from the University of Texas at Dallas. Admission secured, funding arranged, future mapped out, he was ready to leave for the US. Then the pandemic arrived.
For him, COVID-19 wasn’t just a global disruption. It became a series of personal setbacks. US visa appointments disappeared overnight as consulates shut down and backlogs exploded. His admission had to be deferred. The scholarship attached to it vanished too.
Still, he waited. In 2021, hope briefly returned when he finally secured an embassy appointment. Documents were ready. Mentally, he had already left India. Then the embassy shut down a day before his interview.
Living on three months of rent money
When he finally reached the United States, the reality was far from glamorous. He had enough savings to survive for three months. Nothing more.
So he took whatever work he could find, including an on-campus job that paid $9 an hour. There was no room for ego, only urgency. Every dollar mattered because the margin for failure was painfully thin.
Like many international students, he lived with the constant awareness that one setback could collapse everything he had spent years trying to build. And then, just when it finally seemed like things were stabilising, another blow arrived.
The offer that disappeared overnight
After completing his degree, Madhur graduated with what felt like validation after years of struggle: a job offer. One day later, the offer was rescinded.No transition period. No backup. No certainty about what came next. The timing made it crueler. He had crossed the finish line only to realise there was another race waiting.
What followed was months of relentless job applications and interviews before he finally got a shot at Amazon. Initially, he interviewed for a Business Analyst role and progressed deep into the hiring process. Then he was told the role had been filled before his final round.
Fourteen rounds, five months, one opportunity
The second process at Amazon became the hardest professional test of his life. Fourteen interview rounds. One hiring process.
For five months, Madhur built his life around preparation. “Each round felt like another chance but also another risk,” he told Financialexpress.com “You learn to detach from outcomes while somehow staying motivated enough to prepare for the next one.”
He further added, “After every single round, no matter how tough, I walked out feeling confident,” he says. “Not certain, confident. There is a difference. Certainty is about the outcome. Confidence is about knowing you gave it everything you had.” After fourteen rounds, he had done exactly that fourteen times over. And eventually, the call came.
Becoming the ‘big tech guy’
The role was exactly where he had always wanted to be, AI Program Manager at Amazon. Inside Amazon, Madhur co-authored a research paper that was later published at the ICLR 2026 Workshop on Logical Reasoning of Large Language Models. He presented his work internally across the company, taking ideas built inside teams to larger audiences.
And then came the H-1B lottery again. The year everything finally changed. By the third attempt, the stakes felt brutally clear. “There was no fourth attempt in my head,” Madhur says. “Either it worked this year or I was starting over somewhere else entirely.”This time, it worked.
The visa that had once felt permanently out of reach finally came through. Years after the delays, deferrals, lottery losses and uncertainty, the thing he had been chasing since 2019 was finally real. No backup country. No emotional contingency plan. Just relief.
The moment his parents finally understood
Last year, Madhur’s parents visited the United States for the first time. He took them to Amazon’s headquarters, the same company he had once spent five months and fourteen rounds trying desperately to enter.
“They still don’t fully understand what I do,” he told Financialexpress.com “But standing there with them, I think they finally understood what all those years of waiting were for.” It was not really about the office building or the job title.
It was about everything behind it, the embassy closure one day before the visa appointment, the lost scholarship, the rescinded offer, the nights spent wondering whether he would have to leave the country he had fought so hard to stay in. Looking back, Mehta says, “Nobody warns you how many times you’ll have to start over. They only see where you ended up.”
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, immigration, or tax advice. Immigration laws and government policies are subject to frequent change without notice. While we strive to provide accurate updates, readers are strongly advised to verify the latest requirements with the official embassy, consulate, or government portal of the respective country. Financial Express is not responsible for any decisions made based on this information. For personalized guidance, please consult a qualified immigration attorney or a certified professional advisor.