Meet former Tesla engineer Saiman Shetty, who became a US citizen through the EB-1 Green Card: “That decision gave me freedom”

When Saiman Shetty announced on social media that he had lost his Green Card, several commentators celebrated without understanding the clickbait. In a video, before India’s Independence Day, he announced that USCIS took away his Green Card. He said several trolls reported him to USCIS while he was helping other immigrants obtain their Green Cards in the United States. It was just a teaser to announce that USCIS took away his Green Card when he became a US citizen.

What is the story of Saiman Shetty?

Saiman Shetty runs Smart Immigration AI, which he calls the “first and oldest program helping highly-skilled immigrants advance their career achievements toward an extraordinary future in America.” He is also the co-founder of ResumePuppy, a platform for creating resumes for tech jobs.Before all this, he worked at Nuro, Lyft, Tesla and a few other companies in the United States.But even before his journey to the United States began, he did several internships in India, as his LinkedIn profile lists BSNL and ONGC as his workplaces.Shetty completed his engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University in 2013 and then went to Arizona State University for his master’s degree in electrical engineering.His history in the United States spans from 2013 to 2026, during which he went from a student visa to an Einstein visa and then directly to US citizenship.Recounting his story in America, Shetty said he was a broke international student with a one-way ticket, struggling in a new country – the first in his family to set foot in the US and he had no plan B.“America didn’t roll out a red carpet. She hit me. She tested me at every turn. The debt I didn’t know how I would pay off. The jobs they said no to. The H1B lottery I lost. The delays. Walking away from a comfortable Silicon Valley salary to go build something of my own. At every step, I had to prove myself. Again. And again,” he wrote in his Instagram post.“A few jealous people decided I was a ‘fraud’ and built a little trap for me. They handed it over to USCIS with a noose on top. And for a moment, the most powerful immigration system in the world almost took the bait,” he said, adding that he was investigated by USCIS for his immigration platform and they ultimately ruled that he was not doing anything illegal.

‘I built my profile from scratch’

Shetty shared that after not being chosen by the H-1B lottery, he built his profile from scratch and wrote his own petition for the EB1A Green Card, which is called the Einstein visa. “That decision gave me freedom, stability and a mission. I realized: No one should go through this alone,” he said.

What is the EB1A Green Card?

The EB-1A (employment-based first preference) visa is a permanent residency option in the US, commonly known as the “Einstein Green Card,” designed for individuals who possess extraordinary abilities in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.You do not need an employer in the US to sponsor you and you can file the petition yourself. But there are certain conditions that one must meet to be eligible for this Green Card.Nobel Prize, Oscar, Grammy winners or Olympic athletes qualify for this Green Card immediately.The rest must meet at least 3 of 10 criteria.1. Minor awards/prizes for excellence, national or international.2. Membership in associations requiring outstanding achievements.3. Material published about you or your work in major professional media.4. Participation as a judge or reviewer of the work of others in your field.5. Original scientific, academic, artistic or commercial contributions of great importance.6. Authorship of academic articles in major professional or trade journals.7. Exhibition of your work in exhibitions or artistic showcases.8. Play a managerial or critical role in distinguished organizations.9. Earn a high salary or significantly high compensation compared to your peers.10. Commercial success in the performing arts (box office sales, view count).