A young Andhra woman doctor was found dead in her Hyderabad home, with a suicide note revealing she battled severe depression after her US visa was rejected, sparking renewed mental-health concerns.
Published: November 24, 2025 10:40 AM IST
A 38-year-old doctor from Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh was found dead in her flat in Hyderabad on Saturday 22 November. Police say she left a suicide note saying she was depressed over a rejection of her visa application to the US.
Family members of Dr. Rohini say that they received a call from domestic help to go to her flat in Padma Rao Nagar after she failed to open the door. The family broke open the door and found her inside. A note recovered by the police reportedly stated that she was mentally tired and dejected due to her inability to emigrate to the US for work.
Rohini’s death is being treated as a case of suicide, though the cause of death is yet to be confirmed by the post-mortem examination, said the Chilkalguda police station. Rohini may have either consumed an overdose of sleeping pills or self-injected some drug, the police added.
Why was she planning to go to the US?
Dr Rohini’s mother Lakshmi told media that Rohini was a “good student” who completed her MBBS degree in Kyrgyzstan from 2005-10 and had always wanted to specialise in internal medicine.
“I wanted to work in a government hospital after completing my internship. But, since then she had this dream to settle in the US,” Lakshmi said. Rohini later moved to Hyderabad and settled down in Padma Rao Nagar, “considering it to be near library and online study materials”. “She used to say that the number of patients one can attend to in a day is more in the US. Her income would be more too, that’s why she wanted to go there,” Lakshmi said.
Lakshmi said that her daughter’s mental condition had been deteriorating in the last few weeks. “She had been waiting for the US visa to be approved, but it was not and she got mentally exhausted due to loneliness,” Lakshmi said.
The family said that Rohini was unmarried and had completely focused on her studies and work.
What are the broader concerns?
This situation shows how wanting a certain career, hoping to move to another country, and worrying about your mental health are all connected. While a visa being turned down doesn’t always cause such a serious problem, in this particular case, the note suggests it was the final, overwhelming blow. Experts note that in high‐pressure professions such as medicine, unmet or unfulfilled expectations-particularly those with an overseas component-can have a detrimental impact on an individual’s psychological health.
The high-stakes of medical professionals relocating from India is not new, but the visa process adds on its own set of stress, uncertainty and financial as well as bureaucratic hurdles. The case therefore also brings to the fore the need for social support systems that look at the overall well-being of individuals, especially including mental‐health counseling services to help professionals who may be experiencing career setbacks or dealing with disappointment.
What happens next?
The Chilkalguda police have opened an investigation into the cause of death and have been analysing the contents of the suicide note. They are in the process of questioning family members and neighbours to get an idea of Rohini’s recent state of mind and any causal factors. The police are awaiting the post-mortem and toxicology reports to determine the exact cause of death.
The family has taken the body and will be making funeral arrangements in Hyderabad, where Rohini lived. Police say they are in touch with her family to request any documents or correspondence that would be relevant to the ongoing investigation.
Take-away
The case underlines the quiet desperation of professionals with high hopes for an overseas career and timely intervention in mental-health terms to help those showing clear symptoms of isolation and depression. For some doctors and other skilled professionals, migration expectations come with their own hidden emotional toll—a cost that, in Rohini’s case, seems to have been paid in full.
