Bengaluru: A woman based out of Bengaluru stated that she gave up her LI visa which allows  multinational firms to transfer their employees from Indian offices to the US. Though she struggled to reason why she gave the LI visa at the time, looking back, the woman claimed it was a great decision.

Radhika Agarwal, an alumna of the University of California, Berkeley, opened up about her experiences with the US visa system. “I had my whole saga with the US visa system: three H1B lottery misses, a cross-border long-distance relationship through it all, finally getting L1 visa approval, and then deciding to come back home in 2019, giving up the L1 I wanted so badly,” said Agarwal. Further, she revealed that at the time she found it tough to explain her decision to relocate to India. However, considering the new H1B announcement, Agarwal thinks it was one of the best decisions of her life.

Bengaluru woman reveals why she gave up her L1 visa

“I still can’t fully articulate why I gave up the L1 to come home 6 years back, but I can now say it was the best decision I’ve made so far,” said Agarwal. She also added four other reasons that made her confident about her choice. It included the flexibility to switch jobs with ease, the sense of community she gets to enjoy in India, the luxury of being around her parents and lastly, having the opportunity to learn from the country’s evolving start-up ecosystem.

I’ve had my whole saga with the US visa system: 3 H1b lottery misses, cross-border long distance relationship through it all, finally getting L1 visa approval, and then deciding to come back home in ’19, giving up the L1 I wanted so badly…

I still can’t fully articulate why I…

— Radhika Agarwal (@radhika_agar) September 20, 2025

She added, “If you are looking at the new H1B announcement (or the climate in general) and wondering ‘should I move back’this is your sign to say HELL YES.”

Agarwal also revealed how she was able to build a network in India in the last six years. She ended the post by encouraging the people returning to India to contact her.

Many commented on the woman’s post. One wrote, “Yes, 100% – so many folks with loans to pay / kids in school / partners tied to the US / other tricky circumstances. Can’t imagine what they must be going through.” Many lauded her for her bold decision to give up the visa.

Recently, US President Donald Trump announced that H-1B programme applicants would be imposed a fee of over Rs 88 lakh.