Aishani B, an Indian-origin software engineer employed at Microsoft, has been granted a U.S. permanent resident status under the EB-1 visa category following seven unsuccessful attempts in the H-1B lottery between 2019 and 2025. She detailed her immigration journey in a widely shared LinkedIn post, confirming she never won the H-1B visa, which is subject to an annual randomized selection process due to high demand.

In 2022, Aishani moved to Canada and later returned to the United States in 2023 on an L1 intra-company transfer visa. The EB-1 visa, reserved for individuals demonstrating extraordinary ability, does not require a lottery and has no cap, making it a viable option for select high-achieving professionals.

Aishani described the emotional toll of repeated rejections, noting that while the first loss was painful, subsequent outcomes led to a gradual erosion of certainty about her place in the U.S. tech workforce. She emphasized perseverance, saying that seven losses did not signify final rejection but rather a shift in path.

The case highlights growing challenges for skilled Indian professionals navigating U.S. immigration systems, as H-1B demand far exceeds supply. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has not issued new policy guidance on EB-1 adjudications, and the next public data release on visa allocations is scheduled for June 2025.