Indian entrepreneur says US F-1 visa rejection changed his life, led to multi-million-dollar success: 'Thought the whole world crumbled'

An Indian entrepreneur's heartfelt post about how an F-1 visa rejection became the turning point in his life has resonated with many on social media. Taking to X, entrepreneur Vijay Thirumalai reflected on his journey from being unable to pursue a Master's degree in the US despite receiving a full scholarship to eventually building multiple businesses serving the American market.

Denied a US student visa due to lack of funds

Sharing his story, he wrote, "Many years back, right after undegrad, i had the opportunity to go to US for my Masters in CS with 100% scholarship to -UTD @ Texas. Got my F1 rejected coz we were not able to show enough funds in our bank account (had like 1 lac in bank balance, that too borrowed from 5 different relatives). We were too broke to re-apply and didnt have money to apply to other countries in Europe / Canada to diversify visa risks & we let it pass.

All my friends who were far less accomplished than me went to US and were chiling out. Next 4-6 months were traumatic, thought the whole world crumbled."Thirumalai said he eventually gathered himself and began working instead."Then gathered myself, joined ADP Dealer Services as a Networking engineer, went to Alabama, US within a year on B1/B2 and no looking back since then (Our 10 member team in ADP was the pilot team and we did so well, that entire ADP India ops scaled up 100x++ since then)," he wrote.

He went on to describe his entrepreneurial journey, saying, "Did my start up like Palantir to help US govt streamline HHS- scaled to $15 mn + revenues within 3 years & then sold my stake for a few million $, coz of some horrible, low-agency, co-founders (else i would have IPOed this company for $1B++)."Speaking about his current venture, he added, "Now through Goldwater we are helping exceptionally talented 0.01% Global Indians build the life of their dreams in US + North America."Thirumalai also shared how his personal and professional life has evolved over the years."Personally, we have now 🇨🇦Passports, 🇺🇸GC in waiting via EB5, Dubai 🇦🇪 Golden Visa + high 7 fig business + current 8 fig portofolio which has gone up 3X in last 4-5 years. US has been the kindest to me, my professional success has been largely on US centered businesses. Sharing this because, anyone remotely ambitious + high agency has the potential to achieve 10x of what i did in US 🇺🇸.

Happy 250th to the land of unlimited opportunities," he concluded.

Internet applauds his perseverance

The post struck a chord with many X users, who praised Thirumalai's perseverance and determination.One user wrote, "Incredible job, Vijay! 👏 Thanks for sharing this. Stories like yours remind people that setbacks are often just the beginning."Another commented, "Thank you for writing this. Makes me believe everything's possible when you work hard and are ambitious."A third user added, "Super inspiring! Looking forward to meeting you someday in the US (when I get a chance to come there)."