An F-1 student described a perplexing situation he is currently facing, as he has two job offers available to him: one offering ₹28LPA in Bengaluru, India, and another providing a salary of $60K per year in the United States, which he has been working at for the past four months.
The Reddit user shared that he moved to the US to pursue his master’s degree and secured employment only after a year of challenges. However, HT.com cannot independently verify the authenticity of his claims.
Redditor expresses worries regarding job offers
According to him, he was selected for the H-1B visa this year, which is currently in process. Thus, while he is fortunate to have obtained the H-1B, he finds that his salary in the US is relatively low.
The Redditor expressed a longstanding desire to return to India and subsequently come back to the United States at a later time. He described his current situation as being on STEM OPT and mentioned his concerns about becoming trapped in the H-1B cycle.
“I’m in a very confusing state here. I came to US for masters. I’ve recently got a job 4 months ago after a struggle of 1 year. Right now I got a offer from India for 28 lpa in bangalore. My H1-B got picked this year and still needs to be processed. I got my stem opt visa valid until July 2026. It was always my plan to go back to India after my STEM OPT visa expires as it is easier to make the move as a bachelor than getting married and make the move at a later stage. I’m an only son and I’d like to be with my parents and take care of my parents as they are getting older. So, I’m confused whether to take the offer right now and move back or stay here in the USA,” Indian student wrote on Reddit.
F-1 student’s Reddit post draws attention
The post gained significant attention as it highlighted two important issues: the anxiety surrounding the H-1B visa among Indians following several regulatory changes implemented by the Donald Trump administration, and the state of the job market in the United States, where an annual salary of $60,000 is considered relatively low. Social media users commented on this, noting that while the salary might seem inadequate, it was reasonable given that the location was not Silicon Valley or New York, but rather Philadelphia.
The majority of the responses supported a salary of ₹28LPA in Bengaluru, as the cost of living in Philadelphia remains higher.
“Go to India. 60k is poverty in US. 28lpa is generous in India,” one user advised.
“No brainer with the 28LPA India. Unless you’ve a decent trajectory/ confidence, you can get this to be 100k+ in the next year or so in the US,” another stated.
“60k for philly is poverty level. You need atleast 110 to 150k. I would choose Bangalore and maybe come to the USA sometime later since you have the H1b,” a third person reacted.
“Don’t listen to people saying pick 28L, market is very rough in india, layoffs are crazy, stay in the US for atleast 2 to 3 years, your salary will grow too. Then you can make the decision,” one more reacted.
“28 lakh per annum would be what per month post tax? 2 lakh in hand every month? That’s more than generous. That’s higher middle class,” a fifth user said,