Sunjana Ramana is building her company, Flax, in the UK.
Courtesy of Sunjana Ramana
This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with 27-year-old engineer Sunjana Ramana, who moved from New York City to London in February. The following has been edited for length and clarity.As a naive 22-year-old, living and working in America was my dream.I come from a middle-class household in Hyderabad, India. I was accepted to Columbia for a master's in electrical engineering, and I moved to New York in August 2021. I wanted to break into data science and engineering, and my focus was on meeting the right people in the US — those working at big companies with successful careers — so I could build my network.During my 4½ years in the US, I tried to get an H-1B visa, but wasn't successful after three attempts. I moved to London in early 2026, where I've been exploring entrepreneurship. Instead of tying my dreams to being in America, I've taken a more open-ended approach to my career and life.I felt the pressure of student debtI remember paying over $70,000 in fees to go to Columbia, and my living expenses were roughly $2,000 to $2,500 a month, which came with a lot of financial pressure, even though my family was helping to support me. I simultaneously worked three part-time jobs in addition to my coursework. My entire focus was, "I cannot fail."A lot of immigrant students come to the US carrying significant financial pressure, which can feel incredibly overwhelming at times. There's a mindset that failure simply isn't an option because so much is riding on the opportunity.I was disappointed that I never got a H-1B visaI came to the US on an F-1 student visa. After graduating in February 2023, I joined a global insurance company that I'd interned with as a student. As a STEM graduate, I was eligible for three years of work authorization in the US called Optional Practical Training.
