Techie drops Microsoft role in US to return to India: ‘Didn’t leave to retire. Left to live’

Ujjwal Chadha, an Indian-origin AI Engineering Lead, has left his job as a Developer at Microsoft in the United States and returned to India for a remote role. He shared on X that the move has changed his life.Chadha mentioned the “PPP” advantage, saying that $250,000 is comfortable in Seattle, but it goes a long way in Delhi. His rent dropped by 80 per cent, and his savings rate rose to 90 per cent.He also pointed out the “Time Dividend,” saying he no longer deals with long commutes, frozen dinners, or lonely winters. “Now, I have chai with my parents every evening. I have a cook. I have a driver. I have time,” he said.About his career, Chadha said he did not step down but “stepped up.” He added that remote work removes “visa anxiety” and lets him focus on building products and his own ideas.His move is part of a bigger trend: Indian tech professionals are the largest group on US H‑1B visas, which let skilled workers join tech, IT, and engineering jobs. Between October 2022 and September 2023, Indians got about 72.3 per cent of all H‑1B visas, enabling many to work for US tech companies and contribute to software innovation. Chadha said, “I didn’t leave the US to retire. I left to actually live.”

Since President Donald Trump returned to office a second time, many aspects of US visa processing have grown more challenging for foreign workers and immigrants. US has paused immigrant visa issuance for applicants from a long list of countries, affecting those seeking permanent residency. The overall backlog of US visa and immigration cases has reached record highs, with millions of applications pending amid slower processing and enhanced fraud checks. Changes to H‑1B visas include a new high fee for new applications, and stricter social media vetting has led to appointment cancellations and delays for H‑1B holders abroad. These shifts have increased wait times and pushed them to 2027.