For many Indian professionals, the landing of an H-1B visa and work in the United States is often considered the highlight of success: a ticket for high technological work, international exhibition and so-called American dream. But for Aniruddha, an Indian businessman who spent almost a decade on an H-1B, the experience turned out to be much more restrictive than to release.

After nine years in the United States, he decided to give up his H-1B state and change to a B-1 business visa, a movement that says he has “completely changed his life.” Sharing his story on Instagram, Aniruddha made a strong contrast between his life as a H-1B worker and the freedom he now enjoys as a business owner.

“I was on a H-1B visa for nine years and then changed to a B-1, and that’s when my life changed completely,” he wrote.

During his years under the H-1B, Aniruddha says he was constantly loaded by visa restrictions and bureaucratic uncertainty. He could not start his own business in the United States, limited himself to a single annual trip to India and lived with the constant anxiety of renewals and policy changes.

“Life was mundane, he felt like a slave,” he said, describing how the rigid system suffocated his professional and personal autonomy despite his success in high -level corporate work.

Visa B-1, designed for short-term business visits instead of full-time employment, opened a different type of flexibility. Since its basis in India, Aniruddha is now managing its own Limited Liability Company (LLC), two business trips to the United States every year and enjoys a period of validity of ten -year visas without the annual stress of renewal.

“Life feels in my control and exciting every day,” he said. “To direct my LLC legally, traveling twice a year in the United States since India, a valid visa for 10 years, without stress for politics changes, enjoying entrepreneurship.”

His post quickly became a viral debate and led to a debate between immigrant professionals and aspirants. While many praised their courage to move away from the traditional H-1B route, others raised questions about visa legality and long-term practice.

A user commented on, “But being on B-1, you are not allowed to be engaged in any revenue productive work. So how will you run the business in the United States?”

Others indicated the compensation: “You will never get a green card on a B-1; H-1B can present the I-140. H-1B at least provides job stability; companies are risky!”

Some were curious about the financial viability of such a switch. “Where does the investment come from for your LLC? Not everyone in India who wants a H-1B to sit in a lot of investment money. This is not for beginners,” A follower pointed.

The H-1B VISA allows entrepreneurs to hire foreign professionals for specialized functions in fields such as IT, Engineering, Medicine and Research. Usually ties the worker with a single employer and limits independent or entrepreneurship. Instead, B-1 visa allows travel, meetings and business negotiations, but not working or direct revenue generation in the United States

Although conventional, Aniruddha’s experience has reigned a conversation about the price of security versus the pursuit of freedom in the visa system. For some, the H-1B is still a reliable entrance door for long-term residence and professional stability. For others like Aniruddha, the B-1 path offers a rarer thing: the freedom to define work and success in one’s own terms.