His friends’ children went to the UK and the US and achieved so much. He wanted the same for me. In 2021, at 23, I went to NYU for a master’s in computer engineering. I’d only seen New York<\/a> in movies, but I quickly fell in love with it.<\/p>\n I had a great life in the US, but decided to move back in May 2026, primarily to be closer to family. I also wasn’t OK with the <\/strong>restrictions that come with the H-1B visa<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is part of our ongoing coverage of how the Trump administration’s H-1B visa changes<\/strong> affect workers.<\/p>\n If you’ve been impacted and want to share your story, please fill out this short form<\/a> for the reporter.<\/p>\n New York transformed me<\/p>\n I owe a lot of my current personality to my five years in New York<\/a>. Managing things on my own in a new environment made me really ambitious. I became more confident and had a high sense of individuality. In India, I never thought about traveling to another part of the country, and I didn’t realize I loved hiking before coming to the US.<\/p>\n Lamba fell in love with New York after moving there.\u00a0<\/p>\n Courtesy of Disha Lamba<\/p>\n America exposed me to opportunities. In India, while studying information technology at undergrad, I was interested in data science,<\/a> but lacked the confidence to pursue it. At NYU, I had good professors who spoon-fed me information about machine learning and data science, which really helped.<\/p>\n New York is a hub for conferences and meetups, and I attended many. At one event, I met a senior data scientist at CVS Health, who encouraged me to apply to his company. I landed a data scientist role there in 2024.<\/p>\n The job market<\/a> was rough around that time, and a few of my friends moved to other countries because they couldn’t find jobs or secure visa sponsorship.<\/p>\n Living away from family was hard<\/p>\n CVS sponsored my H-1B visa, and I was informed that I was selected in the lottery in March 2026. However, my plan had always been to eventually return to India<\/a>, and by that point, I’d already decided.<\/p>\n Want more Business Insider in your news feed?<\/p>\n \n Add BI in Google so our reporting is easier to find when you\u2019re searching for what matters.\n <\/p>\n I had a great life in the US \u2014 I was happy with my job and social life, and I had a six-figure salary, but I felt lonely.<\/p>\n When the clock hit 5 p.m., there wasn’t anyone around to ask me how my day was. I had friends, but friends can’t be your family. I kept having to organize my video calls with my mom \u2014 who’s my best friend \u2014 around the time difference.<\/p>\n I missed my family<\/a> and realized I was much happier and content around them. I wanted to be there for big celebrations and support my parents during good and bad times. I feared being far away if something bad happened.<\/p>\n My second reason for wanting to move back was the visa restrictions. Once you’re on an H-1B, you need a new visa stamp to travel and return to the US, and getting a stamping appointment in India can be a pain. Since the H-1B is generally granted in three-year increments, I felt there’d be a lot of ongoing visa management.<\/p>\n The H-1B can also <\/strong>make it harder to change employers, pursue additional income streams, or take a career break.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n