My husband and I spent years waiting for green cards. We left the US and built the life we wanted in India.

After living in the US for over 15 years, Astha Chaturvedi and her family moved to India.

Provided by Astha Chaturvedi

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Astha Chaturvedi, 38, the founder of Mouri Living. Her words have been edited for length and clarity.After a decade in Big Tech and at McKinsey, I was working at Ripple in San Francisco when I decided to build my own startup.I traveled to India in 2024 to hire a CTO. While I was there, a cousin suggested I open an office in India, pointing out that the startup ecosystem was booming. That sent my husband and me down a rabbit hole of exploring a move.We'd spent about 15 years building our lives in the US, but there was still no clear path to permanence. My husband and I were both waiting for green cards, and the backlog felt endless. His place in line dated back to 2015, while mine was from 2020.

I had always wanted to start my own company, but I couldn't do so while on an H-1B visa because my work authorization was tied to a sponsoring employer.To pursue that dream, I switched to an H-4 dependent visa through my husband. Once I became eligible for an H-4 EAD, which gave me work authorization, I finally had the flexibility to launch my business.We've always been risk-takersPlanning a change that drastic wasn't too hard. Fifteen years earlier, when we had bought a house in Austin and were married, people thought we were settled.