A former Microsoft employee has shared why he chose to leave the US and return to India, even though the move meant earning less.
LinkedIn user Ujjwal Chadha said he made the decision three years ago and now believes the benefits of returning home go far beyond salary.
“I make less than I would have if I’d stayed. Here’s everything I gained that my salary can’t show you,” he wrote.
One of the biggest reasons, according to Chadha, was freedom from immigration uncertainty.
He said staying in the US would have meant continuing to plan his life around visas, green cards and the hope that things would eventually become stable.
“The version of me that stayed is still in a queue — visa, green card, ‘once things are stable,’” he wrote.
Chadha said returning to India gave him the freedom to make career decisions without constantly worrying about immigration status. It also allowed him to build his own products and take professional risks more freely.
“That freedom doesn’t show up in compensation. It shows up in what you’re allowed to attempt,” he said.
He also spoke about the difference in professional networking.
While in Seattle, he described his network as mostly limited to LinkedIn interactions and occasional coffee meetings. In India, being physically closer to people helped him build deeper professional relationships.
“Proximity compounds,” he wrote, saying that three years of being physically accessible created opportunities that remote interactions could not.
Another major change was that he stopped postponing important parts of his life.
“Abroad, everything good was deferred. I’ll build later, I’ll be closer to family later, I’ll live later,” he wrote. “Moving back collapsed the gap between my plans and my life. Someday became a Tuesday.”
For Chadha, however, the biggest gain was being closer to his parents.
He said that had he stayed in the US, he might have spent only a few days with them each year. Moving back gave him years of ordinary time together.
“You can earn more money later. You cannot earn back the years,” he wrote.
The post triggered mixed reactions online.
Some users related to the uncertainty of working in the US on a visa, while others argued that tightening immigration rules may have also influenced his decision.
One commenter compared the situation to working in the Gulf, saying that one layoff could suddenly put an immigrant worker’s future at risk.
Another questioned whether Chadha truly had a choice, arguing that visa uncertainty may have pushed him towards returning to India.
Despite the debate, his post has once again highlighted a question many Indian professionals abroad face — whether a higher salary is always worth the uncertainty, distance from family and restrictions that can come with immigration status.
