A Bengaluru-based startup founder named Dhananjay Yadav on February 3 posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that he was confused as to why his application for a US visa was denied. He claimed that he had previously studied in the US, and with no plans to remain in the country, expected his application would be granted.
"I have studied in the US before and worked in Berlin. So, had no intent to stay back," he said in the post on X.
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Yadav is the co-founder and CEO of NeoSapien, a company behind a wearable AI device which has ability to track conversations and analyse the emotional state of an individual at any moment in time.
In Delhi today. My US visa got rejected this morning, and still trying to understand why.
— Dhananjay Yadav (@imDhananjay) February 3, 2026
I had an invite from a close friend and investor in NeoSapien, Hari Valiyath (Co-founder, Pyxis), to meet him and potential partners. Pyxis has raised over $200M, and is US-based.
I have…
Interview experience
According to his post, he was travelling to the US for investor meetings and possible B2B partnerships. Yadav said he had received an invitation from Hari Valiyath, a close friend and investor in NeoSapien. Valiyath is also the co-founder of the US-based firm Pyxis, which has raised over $200 million in funding. The visit was reportedly sponsored by his company.
During the visa interview, Yadav expressed that he clearly mentioned the purpose of his travel as "investor meetings and B2B partnerships". However, the interviewer asked him about his salary. Yadav stated that as a startup founder, his salary was minimal, even though the trip was funded by the company.
"Shortly after, the visa was rejected," he wrote, adding that he found the decision hard to understand.
Internet reacts
The social media reactions to his post has generated conversations around the visa screening process as well as the difficulties that entrepreneurs encounter when travelling internationally to do business. Users have expressed their dissatisfaction with the uncertainty of US visa interviews and label them as "mood based" rather than logic based.
One user shared their own experience and said, "They are deliberately making it hard for everybody. I went for a conference and the immigration lady gave me such a hard time because I stayed for more than a month in the summer. I said I was vacationing but damn she kept prodding.
"She let me go when I showed her my bank account that too with such a face. And I was tired after a 16 hour flight and a long ass immigration queue," the user added.
Other users called it a "struggle" and "baffling" experience. One user sympathized and said, "Same case here, may be you had the same luck as mine and visited the same guy as what i did Had a similar experience for my business visa application, interview hardly lasted 15 secs!"
"Sir..you should tag the embassy and consul general and hope they rectify," said another X user.
