One Reddit user said he was selected in the H-1B lottery but wants to return to India.
One NRI technician shared the honest feeling that even after being selected in the recently concluded H-1B lottery, he was feeling a strange sense of sadness and confusion, even thinking about returning to India, as his employer, which he said was a small startup, would allow him to pursue the same job from India.
The admission came amid a torrent of disheartening posts about the American dream coming to an end for those who were not chosen in the lottery and have no other option to remain legally in the United States. While the Redditor sought help thinking through possible scenarios, if he returns to India and regrets the decision, or if he stays in the US and loses his job next year, social media users pointed out that the grass will always be greener on the other side, and the Redditor needs a clear goal to make the decision.
Many suggested to him that he should work from India for a month to see if he would like to work from India. But at the same time, others have warned him that this option comes with the threat of remaining in India for an indefinite period of time due to the migration stagnation.
Redditor says H-1B lottery selection brought no joy due to mental exhaustion.
The Redditor explained that he has lived in the US for the past four years, studying for his master’s, then OPT, STEM OPT, and now H-1B as well. “I did everything right to get here. But now that it’s actually happened, I feel mentally exhausted. I almost feel exhausted… I always thought this would be a ‘Finally, I did it’ moment. But instead, I get this weird feeling of sadness and I don’t really understand why,” the person wrote.This was the first time that USCIS held a wage-based lottery, giving more opportunities to those who qualified for a higher wage base rather than a random lottery to select candidates.