After 11 years on an H-1B visa, I still miss my family back home. Here’s why I stay in the US.
An Indian national living in the US on an H-1B visa shares his experience of the long-term uncertainty and personal sacrifices associated with the visa system. Despite the challenges, he chooses to remain in the US for the professional and personal opportunities it provides his family.
Why it matters
The personal narrative highlights the human impact of US immigration policies on skilled foreign workers.
Abhradeep Chatterjee and his wife moved to the US together 11 years ago; he's been on an H-1B since. Tim Evans for BI Abhradeep Chatterjee has lived in the US on an H-1B visa for 11 years — the uncertainty's been hard. He hasn't visited India to see family in over a decade. Despite it all, Chatterjee is choosing the US because of the opportunities for him and his family. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Abhradeep Chatterjee, 37, an Indian national who lives in Minnesota. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I was young and newly married when I came to the US from India in 2015. I didn't imagine I'd still be here 11 years later. I came for the opportunity to grow.
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