A 30-year-old Indian man named Sasikanth Reddy Donthireddy tragically passed away in the United States after suffering a cardiac arrest, and a fundraiser organised for him says prolonged stress over his H-1B visa struggles contributed to his death.
Sasikanth moved to the US in 2018 to pursue higher education and completed a double master’s degree.
Despite trying multiple times, he was never selected in the H-1B visa lottery, which would have allowed him to work long-term and visit his family in India. Because of this, he had not been able to return home for about eight years to see his parents.
The fundraiser, set up to help cover the high cost of transporting Sasikanth’s body back to India and support his grieving family, states that “the repeated disappointments and visa uncertainty caused him a lot of stress, especially in the last several months.”
On the morning of February 16, Sasikanth reportedly complained of chest pain, was rushed to the hospital, but could not be saved.
Friends and supporters have called attention to Sasikanth’s story as an example of the emotional and financial toll faced by many immigrants dealing with long waiting periods and uncertainties in the US visa system.
His parents, who had hoped to welcome him home after years apart, now also face the burden of arranging his final rites and repatriation costs.
