Rukum West, June 14 -- On December 7, 2023, Rajendra Khadka received a phone call that set his migration plan in motion.

"It's time to leave for America," the caller said. "Come to Kathmandu immediately."

For Khadka, a pharmacy graduate who ran a small chemist's shop in Salle Bazaar, the district headquarters of Rukum West, the message landed as the long-awaited signal he had been preparing for. He had spent months weighing the idea of leaving Nepal for the United States, driven by the prospect of better income and stability.

The following morning, he packed his belongings, sought blessings from family members and household deities, and left his home in ward 1 of Musikot Municipality.

The agent handling his migration had promised a st...