I spent virtually 13 years constructing a life in the United States, after which I had 60 days to pack up and go away all of it behind.
I used to be raised in Kolkata and by no means lived anyplace else till 19. I would by no means visited the US as a baby, however felt oddly near it — my aunt and uncle, each professors, lived in Spokane, Washington, and my aunt’s tales made me interested by American life lengthy earlier than I noticed it myself.
I began working at 17 out of necessity, saved working whereas pursuing my bachelor’s diploma in enterprise administration at Calcutta College, and after commencement landed a job as a enterprise developer for a startup exporting handwoven luggage.
Inspired by my aunt and uncle to think about a grasp’s overseas, I took the GMAT virtually on a whim. I used to be supplied a scholarship from Gonzaga College in Spokane. At 20, I arrived in Washington in December 2013 on an F-1 visa. It was freezing and silent, nothing just like the loud metropolis I would identified again dwelling.
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As soon as I adjusted, it grew to become dwelling
The college’s group felt refreshingly completely different from the hierarchy I would grown up with, and I discovered my footing by means of the worldwide pupil community. My MBA took two years.
As an international student, I had a restricted window after commencement to search out qualifying work. I could not discover a paid job, so I took an unpaid advertising function at a nonprofit to construct expertise. I finally landed a management rotational program at US Financial institution, and went again to my college for a second grasp’s in organizational management tied on to that job.
When my program at US Financial institution ended, I requested them to sponsor an H-1B. They mentioned no. Town had few employers skilled with worldwide hiring, and I typically discovered myself explaining the foundations.
I joined a small genetic-testing startup that did DNA testing for canines and cats. The CEO took an curiosity in my profession and promoted me inside months. When Neogen acquired the corporate, she pushed for me to be retained and hoped it could sponsor my H-1B. Neogen finally sponsored my H-1B visa.
I used to be picked within the lottery on my first try in 2021 — pure luck. Just a few years later, Amazon acquired my H-1B sponsorship, and I moved about 280 miles west from Spokane to Seattle to work there.
By then, the US wasn’t simply the place I lived — it was dwelling.
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Then, in 2025, I used to be laid off
The dialog was calm {and professional}. We mentioned severance, and I signed with out negotiating. Sixty days sounded inconceivable from the beginning. Then, simply as I used to be laid off, the general public debate over the proposed $100,000 charge for brand spanking new H-1B petitions exploded.
Even with Amazon on my résumé, I did not get a single interview the next month.
As soon as 30 days had handed with nothing lined up, I began getting ready to depart the nation completely. My solely non-negotiable was my two cats. I spent roughly $5,000 on paperwork to fly them internationally, plus $6,000 to interrupt my lease early.
I bought what I may — a sofa and a TV — and paid further to get rid of every part else. Discovering a flight the place I may journey with my cats took days of analysis and value hundreds extra in agent charges and last-minute airfare.
All informed, the transfer value an estimated $18,000. That included vet visits, USDA and Indian customs paperwork for my cats, my very own flight, and flights for a pal who got here from India to assist me transfer.
However the fee wasn’t solely monetary: My father had died abruptly after I was 17, and I would successfully supported my mom and sister ever since. Dropping every part wasn’t nearly furnishings and leases. It was the safety I would labored so lengthy to construct for individuals who relied on me.
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Settling again in India
I returned to India final September. It was disorienting; not like my previous quick visits, there was no return flight ready this time. Caring for my cats, discovering the precise meals and litter, saved me grounded by means of the toughest weeks.
My confidence took successful after I in contrast myself to mates whose lives appeared steady. However a few months in the past, I began actively constructing Puchki, a pet-sitting model impressed by my very own problem discovering in Kolkata the type of dependable, loving care I had for my two cats within the US. Throwing myself again into work pulled me out of the worst of it.
I would nonetheless love to go to the US, largely to see my aunt, uncle, and mates. However I do not need to reside there once more — the uncertainty was fixed, and even setting the visa apart, the broader political local weather was distressing.
Staying in India long-term is one thing I am nonetheless understanding — there’s loads right here I worth, and different issues, as a feminist, I discover more durable to reconcile. Europe feels just like the model of “elsewhere” that appeals to me most.
If I may inform different worldwide college students and employees one factor: Become involved in every part your college gives — that type of group will get rarer when you’re working. And if you happen to come from a tradition that prizes humility, particularly at work, that intuition can work towards you within the US. It’s a must to be taught to talk plainly about what you’ve got completed, as a result of nobody else goes to do it for you.
Enterprise Insider confirmed she was employed by US Financial institution, Neogen, and Amazon. US Financial institution and Neogen declined to reply to a request for remark. Amazon didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Lisa Shaffer, the previous CEO of the genetic-testing startup the place Chanda labored, confirmed that Chanda was promoted inside months. Shaffer informed Enterprise Insider that she advocated for Chanda to be retained when the startup was acquired. “She was instantly discovered to be head and shoulders above anybody else in her division,” Shaffer mentioned.
