Anupam Mittal — the entrepreneur behind Shaadi.com and a panellist on Shark Tank India — addressed his personal choice to give up his green card against a backdrop of the United States halting a visa-processing stage that touches multiple Indian technology firms, adding that the turbulence surrounding American immigration rules may ultimately work in India's favour.
Federal authorities have placed a number of prominent technology and business-process firms — among them Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Cognizant, and Capgemini — on a restricted list within the Permanent Labor Certification Programme (PERM), the pathway through which employers seek to sponsor overseas workers for employment-based green cards. Regulatory measures now cover both Microsoft and Adobe equally, with new visa sponsorship applications no longer accepted and pending labour certification filings for each company placed on hold.
Apprehension has spread through communities of overseas workers — notably those from India holding positions in the American technology industry — following the announcement of the policy change. Existing H-1B visa holders face no immediate disruption under the suspension, yet those pursuing a path toward lawful permanent residence may find that route narrowed or closed off entirely.
Turning to LinkedIn, Mittal recounted how he had walked away from his own green card some years prior. He recalled that settling in the United States had once stood as a personal goal, a path he described as one many driven young people from India had considered. He credited education, steady employment, and sound financial decisions with propelling him to multimillionaire status within four years, a period he described in his own words as living out the American dream.
A permanent residency document entered the picture next. Mittal conveyed that an overwhelming sense of happiness marked his inner state at that point, though he noted the sensation passed before it had a chance to take hold.
Holding permanent residency in hand, Mittal nonetheless opted to return to India in 2004 with the aim of founding businesses there. Each year he made the trip to the United States to keep his green card valid, all while wrestling internally with whether holding onto that permanent residency status was the right path for him.
At the US consulate in Mumbai, Mittal handed over the document in person. He recalled that the consular officer appeared taken aback by his choice and pressed him to give it further thought, quoting the officer as saying he looked at Mittal as though the decision made no sense and telling him to reconsider.
In a written post, Mittal conveyed the view that surrendering something of value carries the risk of permanent loss. He recalled the encounter as one marked by intense emotional pressure, noting that he nonetheless left the office with the green card still on his person.
Twelve months on, he returned and saw the procedure through to its conclusion, at which point he indicated — in his own words — that he had handed the document over. He described the experience as leaving him noticeably more at ease than he had been in recent memory, and conveyed the sensation of having both feet positioned on the same side for the very first time.
Drawing on that account, Mittal turned his attention to how attitudes among Indian entrepreneurs and professionals have been shifting over time. Staying in the United States, he reflected, might have put him on a path toward a lucrative career in the technology sector. He noted that the move back to India had opened doors to founding companies, backing more than 300 early-stage ventures, and embedding himself within the country's expanding startup landscape, adding that the moment had arrived for technology and consumer brands built on Indian soil to reach a global audience.
In a written reflection, Mittal observed that a door shutting behind you can reveal which place you truly belong to.
