Most people move out of India and plan to settle in the US in the hope of a better lifestyle and standard of living, but they also face their own share of hurdles while living away from their home country. One of the most renowned challenges faced by those living, working, or studying in the US and aspiring for permanent residency is the journey to obtaining a green card.

Many individuals can share personal experiences of the obstacles they’ve faced, while others are unaware of the lengthy wait times and intricate procedures involved in the whole process. Multiple individuals, including top professionals like the Indian CEO of the US-based company Perplexity AI, are navigating this same bureaucratic maze.

Rohit Krishnan, Chief Product Officer at Bodo.ai, recently ignited a critical discussion about the challenges immigrants face in the US through a social media post on X (formerly Twitter). Through social media, he highlighted the immense effort required to obtain a Green Card, sharing his experience as a three-time immigrant. According to Krishnan, despite having lived in several countries, the process in the US has proven to be the most arduous of all.

One thing I find about the immigrants dialogue is how few of the people making it seem to know how hard it is to actually immigrate to this country. I've been an immigrant 3x now and US was by far the longest and hardest it's been.

— rohit (@krishnanrohit) October 30, 2024

Yep. I have been waiting for my green card for like the last 3 years. Still haven’t gotten it. People mostly have no idea when they talk about immigration. https://t.co/X2o34kiFjP

— Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) October 30, 2024

In his post, Krishnan recounted the story of a Tesla investor who has legally lived in the US for over 14 years but has spent nine of those years waiting for a Green Card. This resonated with Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, a San Francisco-based AI-powered search engine, who joined the conversation and shared his experience. Srinivas revealed that he has been waiting for his green card for over three years. "People mostly have no idea when they talk about immigration," he noted.

It's disheartening to realise that even immigrants like Srinivas, who have significantly contributed to the US economy, must navigate such uncertainty.

Several other X users came forward to share their experiences; one user wrote, “I went through the process in denmark (a notoriously difficult immigration process) and it was awful. I know the US is much worse, and I have nothing but the deepest respect and admiration for the people that have done it. these people ipso facto embody american determination.”

“Took me 15 years and I was one of the lucky ones (rest of world). If you're Indian or Chinese you're basically screwed,” added another user.