An Indian-origin Microsoft techie, Aishani B, shared her inspiring story of becoming a permanent resident in the United States after years of trying for an H-1B visa. In a LinkedIn post, Aishani detailed how she repeatedly applied for the work visa between 2019 and 2025 but was never selected in the lottery.
Repeated rejections and emotional toll
Sharing her experience of repeated rejections, Aishani said the first rejection was hard, while the second came with rational thoughts. However, by the third, fourth, and fifth attempts, there was nothing new to say. She moved from the US to Canada in 2022 and returned to the US in 2023 on an L1 visa.
"People ask me what that feels like. Honestly? The first rejection stings. The second, you rationalize. By the third, fourth, fifth — you stop telling people. Not because you’re ashamed. But because there’s nothing new to say. What nobody tells you about losing repeatedly: It’s not one moment of disappointment. It’s a slow, quiet erosion of certainty," she wrote.
"Am I good enough to be here? Would someone else have figured this out by now? How long do I keep trying?" she added.
Green card through EB-1
In 2025, she received a Green Card through EB-1, which is meant for individuals with extraordinary ability. Aishani said she never thought she would qualify for this, especially after seven rejections, but she did. "Because the version of me losing lottery after lottery didn’t feel extraordinary. She felt exhausted. What kept her going? A quiet belief that there was a reason for this. And a stubbornness that refused to find out what quitting felt like. 7 losses didn’t mean no. They meant: not this way. If you’re counting your own rejections right now — the number isn’t the story. What you build in between is," Aishani wrote.
The techie often shares insights about immigration on her LinkedIn. In an earlier post, she spoke about how immigrants are always in between. In India, they are the one who left; in the US, they are the immigrant engineer; and in Canada, they are starting over again, she wrote.
