[aquavivarium]

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

My wife has been selected in the H1B lottery. Now, assuming that she gets the visa, we have a major decision to make

Time is on your side, this is the age to take risks, TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH.
you have a safety net

Mod note: Please quote only the relevant portion.

[petrogeek]

Hi,

My two bits:-

1. A lot of my MBA batchmates, moved out abroad within 5-10 years of getting a job. Its close to 20 years now since we graduated. You would be surprised the number that actually come back to India!

2. The reason for 1 above, is most of them have a nest egg and some for a rainy day and hence want to come back to ones own country!

3. In your case, you both are in the top earning bracket in India. Investment wise, you seem sorted. To me, it does not make sense to make the shift, go through a period of uncertainty in getting a career, have the kids get used to an new place etc.

What most people aspire for in India- a stable income, property, and stable life- You are already there! Cherish it, and be thankful for it!

[srvm]

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

My wife has been selected in the H1B lottery. .....

I don't have advice to KL01toKA03 on the above quoted post. But I do have one query to all who responded that post, particularly those in favor of moving the entire family to USA. As a parent, how do you feel about safety of your child in schools in USA?

My brother and his family live in USA. My niece and nephew study in schools there. Everytime there is news of a shooting incident at a school, me and my parents are petrified here in India wondering which school may be next. I'm absolutely scared of the number of guns in USA, particularly in states like Texas (like OP's case) and the ease with which even teenagers/mentally disturbed individuals get access to them. The uproar following every such incident dies down only to be awakened after the next incident, yet nothing changes on the ground.

Should parents like KL01toKA03 consider this as a factor at all? Is high-school/ Grad school in USA worth this kind of risk?

@Samurai - I'm particularly keen on your views in this regard. Since you have been is USA and back.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by srvm

@Samurai - I'm particularly keen on your views in this regard. Since you have been is USA and back.

I don't generally comment on specifics of life in USA, since I returned 18 years ago. Lots of my experiences are outdated and may not be relevant to current times. Yes, it looks like the situation is lot worse than the times when I made the decision to return. I returned before my son got used to US life, so he never really missed it. He has no recollection of USA.

When I left, the school shootings were a rarity, and even shocking. Like the Columbine High School massacre in 2000. Then only inner city schools had metal detectors. Now school shootings are so common, schools have active shooter training.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...evere-n1239103

Education department websites have content on how to deal with active shooters? That gives me the creeps.

https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ss/cp/activeshooter.asp

But I don't know how it is on the ground. I think currently resident parents will be able to give you more accurate picture than me.

I left for other reasons:
1) Parents were getting old, and I wanted to be around for them. Now I travel to Udupi every month to be with my mom for few days. I was around when my dad passed away few years ago.
2) I was making 6 figures salary 20 years ago, with 12 years of experience, even had zero co-pay medical coverage for full family. I was well settled and employer was very very willing to file GC, and it was lot easier then. But I realised I will always be judged on skin color, rather than on who I am. I know it doesn't bother most people emigrating to USA, but it did bother me. I didn't want to put-up with it, nor subject my son to it.

[Navinprakash]

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

What are my biggest fears:

1. Will I be able to find a job in Technical Writing? I do not know anyone from India who is a technical writer in USA. Is it realistic to get a job in a software company while on an H-4 visa?

2. How difficult is it to find a job as a dependent of an H1B visa holder? Is there any bias against such people since there is a chance that they might lose their authorization to work if the H1B visa expires.

3. Is it possible to extend the H1B visa indefinitely (providing the current policies do not change)? It does not make much sense for me to leave a stable and well-paying job and come back without a job after a few months.

Hi KL01toKA03,

I am working in H1B Visa in US from 2012. I moved to US via MNC and worked in Wall street and currently working in local US company as contractor. Here are my advise based on what I am seeing in my life as well as my friend's life

1. H4 Visa is awarded to spouse and dependent children of H1B Visa holder. H4 holder can't work in US as of now. There are many bills in pipeline and might allow H4 to work in the future. But there is no concrete information yet.

Once the Labor and I-140 approved for the primary H1B holder, H4 can get H4 EAD and authorized to work in US. (Continue to read to get to the timeline to get H4 EAD)

2. If your spouse is getting H1B through MNC, confirm the below before making any decisions
a. How long the MNC would like to offer the US onsite position ? Most MNCs will keep very less percentage in Onsite (like 10% onsite and 90% offshore). In that case, MNC will not have any intension to do Green card processing to the current onsite resource and would like to do rotation of resource to give opportunity to all employees. So they can keep employee for 6 year or less and send back to India.
b. How long before the company applies Green card ? Most MNC will not apply for Green card as soon as you landed in US. They usually apply GC only in 4th year of H1B. Check what is the company policy. Will you be OK to wait for 4+ years to start working?

3. In an extremely rare case, if the company is ready to apply GC in 6 months, it will take at least an year before you can get H4 EAD.

4. Make sure you can manage the expenses of 4 people in salary of 85K/Yr. Here is a sample of what you can get in hand for 85K salary and the most common expenses. Keep this as ballpark and adjust according to your needs.

Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have more questions, I am happy to answer.

[efgritesh]

Originally Posted by sunilch

Good quality higher education is way easier to afford and enroll into in USA.

Can you elaborate it in terms of dollar cost? what i know that colleges or not free unlike schools and you have to pay hefty amounts for getting a decent college.

[FrozeninTime]

Originally Posted by kartoosh

This is just my view and no offence to anyone.
IMO emigrating to US at this point in time makes all the more sense than ever.
All these life problems what everyone is talking about (other than being with parents) can be overcome through money. And when you are moving for better, lots of such hurdles will come and one has to make a choice as to what one really wants.
India will not be a place to live in after not more than a decade.

You forgot the crux is ever increasing population.
India added 600 million in just 30 years ( 1991 to 2021) years compared to 500 million from 1947 to 1991.

I never thought I would face similar issues which my father's generation faced. This has led me to chart an exit strategy. It's going to be expensive and difficult but worth it I feel it for my family.

[Kanna_8118]

Originally Posted by sunilch

lot of my friends and relatives have done both - relocated for good and also worked abroad for few years and come back and hence I have first hand information of the challenges that they faced and advantages they had in say US v/s India.

It would be of great help to everyone (especially me) if you could please pen down the information; since you have seen both sides of the coin.

Originally Posted by eyeman

Your kids can make a decision where they want to live when they grow up, like mine did. My son is doing his MBBS in Kerala, and my daughter her engineering in NIT Trichy.

It's amazing that your children have secured admissions in prestigious institutions given the fierce competition. Based on your personal experience can you please elaborate on the pros and cons with OCI status of your children. Eg: College tuition fee is substantially more for non-Indian's. Also have you faced any issues while travelling abroad, coming back to India, registering property/vehicle.

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by efgritesh

Can you elaborate it in terms of dollar cost? what i know that colleges or not free unlike schools and you have to pay hefty amounts for getting a decent college.

What I mean is gaining admissions into good schools where quality of education is good, professors have good pedigree, focus on research is there at University level and the infra is in place is easy. Simply because there are many universities in US which offer both of these things.

It is easier to afford because financing is easily available and also when you earn in USD, you will be able to provide for the education costs for your child with relative ease when compared to someone who is earning in INR and then funding the education of their child in US or some other developed country where it is paid. The absolute amount in figures may look large but you are better placed to mange the same.

Coming back to India, the number of good institutes is limited and the competition is intense at times. There could be a case where you are gunning for one seat along with 200 others. There is a reason why we see this 'fad' of parents trying to push their kids into coding and IIT-JEE prep very early in their life. This, I personally believe, is wrong but to each his own.

Note: This may (and mostly will) change in future 10-15 years for sure as India is headed towards that and people are open to pay for better quality education.

Originally Posted by Kanna_8118

It would be of great help to everyone (especially me) if you could please pen down the information; since you have seen both sides of the coin.

Most of what I have experienced and understood (in terms of advantages of life in say US/UK/ME v/s India) is already listed here across pages and posts. If there is anything specific that you are looking for, do let me know.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by wheeledwanderer

8. Final nail in the coffin was "Its better to live in my country as a FIRST grade citizen in my country than as a THIRD grade citizen in another country"

Some people prefer to live in a society where this stigma and inferiority/superiority complex is not there i.e I'm no less or more than the person next to me.

If someone believes that they are FIRST grade (in all CAPS ) in their country then, they acknowledge the existence of lower grades and I ask what gives them the privilege to perch themselves at the top of this grade pyramid.

I wonder what forums people from two generations ago browsed and asked for opinion before they migrated from a remote village to a town; town to city; and city to metropolis. Some would have been scared and decided not to migrate and some others braved the unknown and forged ahead. There may be people who flourished or perished in both cases and that's perfectly fine because each individual's expectations and experiences are very different.

Get all the information and advice you can but review them from your perspective and tread your own path.

[fhdowntheline]

What about looking at Canada or the UAE (who have opened up long stay options for various professionals)? Looking at your objectives - better schooling and comfortable lifestyle, UAE is not a bad option. To some extent it is also safer than US (so far). There is limited potential for exploring the place, but then India is just 2-3 hours away.

[Kanna_8118]

Originally Posted by sunilch

Most of what I have experienced and understood (in terms of advantages of life in say US/UK/ME v/s India) is already listed here across pages and posts. If there is anything specific that you are looking for, do let me know.

Many people who living in U.S for more than 3-4 years tend to buy a house there and invest in other assets, coming back to India they need to liquidate there assets and transfer them; as you have seen first hand the challenges of people who came back to India, I am keen to know what taxes they had to pay, any suggestions you can give to people who are coming back (without making unknown financial blunders).

More importantly what's the psychological toll on children from relocating. From my observations teenagers will never-ever agree on going back to India, more persistent as they age. Is there any particular "threshold age" before which relocating back to India doesn't effect them much.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

Thank you for all the responses. It helped a lot in making a decision. For now, my wife will go alone, I stay in India with the children. She will try to get a green card, and if that happens we will also join her. Else, she will come back. Worst case, she comes back to India with a lot of independence and will be in a better shape to handle things.

There are quite a few opinions/suggestions on the financial and the cultural-fit side.

Just one more point to think – You mentioned your kids and 4 and 6 years old. Will it be a good time for you and the kids to move along with your wife, explore a new country and the atmosphere, travel around, and create some memories? And in 2-3 years, if the country is still not something that excites you, there’s still opportunity to return together or look at other options. No point in sacrificing / compromising your present (and your kids’) for the independence of a better future. That the better future may quite easily become a moving target.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by gabrielthomas

I believe any one who is not a US Citizen is referred to as a 'Alien'. Can't be more insulting than this!

Britain too. And I'd be the absolute last to defend in any way the racist policies ("Hostile Environment." Official.) of my mother country, but alien... See this definition. This is just the meaning of the English word. They don't mean to say that you might as well have green skin and three eyes: they just mean foreign.

But, of course, any word, however harmless, can be made harmful depending on the tone of voice. And I'm guessing that this one is, regularly.

[androdev]

Don't immigrate. Don't save.
Two things that cause immense suffering. Treat it like an opportunity to travel and see the world.

Let your wife travel alone for the job. Plan a get together once in a quarter - either you and kids visit US or let your wife visit India. Don't be tempted to save money by not traveling - defeats the whole purpose of getting the best out of such opportunities.

Don't turn this into an immigration and single income social drama movie. Make a feel good vacation documentary.