Bengaluru founder raises concerns over US visa process after rejection in Delhi: ‘My salary is minimal’

Bengaluru entrepreneur shares experience after US visa rejection. (AI generated image)

For Indian startup founders, overseas travel is often tied to investor meetings and business expansion plans. However, visa approvals can sometimes become an unexpected hurdle, even for entrepreneurs with prior international exposure.

A Bengaluru-based startup founder has raised concerns over the US visa application process. He said his visa was rejected during an interview at the US Embassy in Delhi, even though he had a clear business reason to travel. The incident has started a discussion on social media about the problems founders face when applying for visas for short business trips abroad.

Dhananjay Yadav, co-founder of startup NeoSapien, shared his experience on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday. He said his US visa application was rejected during an interview in Delhi. “In Delhi today. My US visa got rejected this morning, and still trying to understand why,” Yadav wrote.

Yadav said the visit was part of NeoSapien’s business plans in the US. He said he had received an invitation from Hari Valiyath, a close friend and investor in NeoSapien. Valiyath is also the co-founder of US-based firm Pyxis, which has raised over $200 million. Yadav added that the trip was sponsored by his company.

He also referred to his international background, saying he believed it supported his application. “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 studied in the US before and worked in Berlin. So, had no intent to stay back,” he mentioned.

According to Yadav, he clearly stated the purpose of his visit during the visa interview. He said he told the officer that he was travelling for “investor meetings and B2B partnerships”. However, he said the discussion then focused on his personal salary. “Despite the trip being company-sponsored. As a founder, my salary is minimal. Shortly after, the visa was rejected. Hard to understand the logic,” he wrote.

His post received responses from many startup founders, professionals, and frequent travellers. Several people questioned how visa officers judge founders, whose income is often different from that of regular salaried employees. Some users said the visa interview process appeared inconsistent. One founder commented, “It isn't logic-based, its mood based as far as I have understood.”

In Delhi today. My US visa got rejected this morning, and still trying to understand why. 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…

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— Dhananjay Yadav (@imDhananjay) February 3, 2026

Others shared similar experiences at US immigration or visa interviews. One user wrote, “They are deliberately making it hard for everybody. I went to 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.”

Several comments focused on how founders are often questioned about personal income, which may not reflect the financial health of their company. One user said, “The salary question is such a trap for founders. You're literally building something worth millions, but your personal salary is low because you're reinvesting everything back into the company. They don't get that founder economics work completely different from a salaried employee's. Have you tried applying through a different consulate? Sometimes the interviewer matters more than the application itself.”

Another user offered an explanation based on how visa officers may assess applications. The user said, “Honestly, the designation doesn’t matter much to visa officers. Founder, co-founder, or CEO in your own company, you can call yourself anything. To them, it’s just a title on paper. What really matters is financial strength and personal stability, steady income, savings, and whether you can comfortably fund the trip yourself, even without sponsorship. From their lens: low salary + sponsored trip + “investor meetings” in the US = possible job hunting or business migration risk. It’s less about logic or credentials and more about how they assess risk. Hope you get another shot soon.”