Because the onset of the second Trump administration, the H-1B visa has reworked from a authorities doc right into a coveted objective. From making use of to the lottery quite a few occasions to hoping for different visas and even planning to change international locations, individuals have completed all issues conceivable to have the ability to lengthen their keep in the USA.Your complete effort is in response to Trump’s tightening of visa pointers to curb unlawful migration whereas additionally prioritising native Individuals. Whereas the initiative has been impactful, it has led to displacing many individuals who have been actively and successfully contributing to the USA financial system. One such individual is Sohan Sethi, a 29-year-old Indian-origin nationwide who confronted three H-1B lottery rejections earlier than making an attempt all his would possibly to have the ability to get an O-1 visa.Sethi, was born and raised in Mumbai and spent 25 years of his life in India. Earlier than transferring to the US for his grasp’s, he had by no means set foot outdoors the nation. Since doing an undergrad abroad was not financially viable, he accomplished a bachelor’s diploma in pc engineering from the University of Mumbai and gained expertise for a few 12 months and a half as a enterprise analyst whereas saving cash and getting ready for graduate faculty.It took him three years of steady preparation, effort, and saving cash to get to the US. “Whereas working full-time, I ready for my GRE, gathered advice letters, and utilized to a number of universities,” he instructed Enterprise Insider. The College of Illinois Chicago was his dream faculty and it had a enterprise analytics program he actually wished to get into. Ultimately, he obtained accepted and arrived in Chicago in January 2022.“I had a wallpaper on my laptop computer of a bridge overlooking the Chicago skyline. Each time I felt exhausted or anxious, I might minimise all the things on my pc and have a look at that image. Twenty days later, on my twenty fifth birthday, I stood in the very same spot that had been my wallpaper,” he mentioned.
A profession in knowledge and analytics
As a world pupil, Sethi’s charges have been roughly $60,000 throughout three semesters. He obtained a analysis assistantship throughout his second and third semesters and the college coated a good portion of the prices. After graduating in Could 2023, he started working as a senior enterprise analyst at a healthcare firm. A 12 months and a half later, he was promoted to supervisor of analytics and reporting and life was good.
Makes an attempt for H-1B
In June of the identical 12 months, he started getting ready for the O-1 visa in June 2025, virtually a 12 months previous to the expiration of his OPT.
Sethi entered the H-1B lottery thrice and was rejected each time. “After my second rejection in April 2025, I realised I could not depend on the lottery alone if I wished to proceed my profession in the USA,” he mentioned. In June of the identical 12 months, he started getting ready for the O-1 visa in June 2025, virtually a 12 months previous to the expiration of his OPT.Not like the H-1B, the O-1 is not based mostly on a lottery. As an alternative, candidates must display “extraordinary capability” by achievements of their subject. Thus, he employed a lawyer and spent the following a number of months constructing a profile whereas persevering with to work full time. “I audited my achievements, secured media protection, judged at business occasions, obtained awards, revealed scholarly articles, and gathered letters of advice,” he mentioned.By February 2026, he and his legal professionals had organised greater than 700 pages of supporting proof. For all of this, Sethi spent a whopping $13,000 on lawyer charges. In March, he was rejected from the H-1B lottery for the third time. “At that time, my STEM OPT was attributable to expire on July 5, leaving me with round 100 days to legally keep in the USA except one other pathway labored out,” he shared.
An O-1 visa
In April, he had filed for an O-1 petition. After submitting, he obtained a Request for Proof, which required him to submit extra documentation and wait once more. Sethi mentioned that whereas ready for a response, he started fascinated by different potentialities. “I do know individuals who have gone again to their house international locations, pursued a second grasp’s diploma, or moved to locations like Canada or the UK. I thought-about these choices too, however I could not discover one other nation the place I felt I might construct the identical profession,” he confessed.The O-1 visa is a short lived, non-immigrant visa for individuals with extraordinary capability or achievement in sciences, arts, training, enterprise, athletics or tv/movie. It has no annual cap, no lottery, permits limitless one-year extensions and requires a US employer or agent sponsor.As an expert working in knowledge analytics and AI, he mentioned no different nation supplied the alternatives, infrastructure and publicity that the US did. “That is why I did not need to surrender with out exploring each doable choice,” he added. Ultimately, his O-1 visa was authorized and now, Sethi manages a workforce of analysts working in healthcare knowledge and analytics.All this time, he had been sharing his expertise on LinkedIn as a way to information others like him who felt unsure and have been navigating the O-1 course of. “The one intent behind that was to be there for somebody in the best way I want somebody had been there for me. For now, my focus is on benefiting from the following three years in the USA,” he added.
