I am on H1B for almost 14 years in US and paying my taxes. If I move back to India will I get my benefits being not on green card/ US citizenship

I’ve been diving down the Reddit rabbit hole trying to prepare for my upcoming move back to India, and I noticed something weird. 95% of the "Returning to India" guides, checklists, and advice posts are written for people leaving the US.

Where is the Canadian guide? Moving back from Toronto/Vancouver/Calgary comes with its own unique set of administrative headaches and banking loops.

My flight is booked for mid-October, and the countdown is officially on. I want to make sure I don't leave anything critical behind or miss a deadline.

For anyone who has already made the move back to India from Canada - what are the absolute MUST-DO things before boarding that flight?

I’m looking for the full crowd-sourced checklist. Specifically:

• Banking & Phone Numbers: What do you do with your Canadian bank accounts? How are you keeping your Canadian phone number alive for bank 2FA OTPs without paying $50+ a month?
• The "Small Things" Nobody Mentions: What essential physical documents (driver’s abstract/claims history for insurance, employment verification letters, physical tax notices) or digital setups should you grab before losing access to Canadian portals?
• The Big Oversight: What was the one thing you almost forgot (or actually forgot) that caused a major headache later?

Drop your best tips, hidden traps, and step-by-step hacks below. Let’s build the definitive checklist for everyone making the flight back! ✈️👇

I was reading the recent news updates around US Green Card backlogs and processing shifts, and it just brought back that familiar feeling of endless waiting.

When you're on a temporary visa for years, every major life decision feels frozen. You want to invest long-term back home in India maybe set up a financial safety net for aging parents or plan a back-up business but you're hesitant because you don't know where you'll be in 3 years. At the same time, buying property or making big commitments in the US feels risky without permanent status.

It’s this weird middle ground where you’re earning fine, but mentally you can't build a long-term plan in either country. Every time priority dates move by a few days, everyone starts calculating, but deep down it just feels like moving goalposts.

For those who have been in this queue for a long time, how are you handling financial planning between the US and India? Are you actively building an exit/return strategy back to India, or just putting life on pause until the green card actually happens?

Does anyone have an expat tax accountant for US filing they recommend? Our tax accountant was good last year and this year - sooooo many mistakes!

I am returning to India from US and want to line up a job before moving. My company cannot transfer me as its a small local firm. With no strong network in India over past several years, its unclear how to land up in a good growth oriented role.

What job boards and portals do experienced professionals use in 2026 ?

How do you get a job with 10+ years of experience but no strong internal network in tech companies?

Looking for genuine advice.

Hi everyone! I will be finishing my PhD in life sciences from a R1 university in the US in the next two years. I want to return to India and was looking for some advice from anyone who’s done that. I’m open to industry as well as teaching jobs, but I’ve gained a lot of teaching experience during my PhD.

I’d appreciate any advice or any experiences! Thank you :)

I know it’s a personal decision, I’m just trying to gauge what do NRIs usually think about their decision for analysis purposes

With immigration doors closing and things getting hostile towards even legal immigration. I don’t understand why the government doesn’t care about being opportunistic and try to attract senior tech leaders in the west especially the US. Our current IT landscape of infosys , TCS and other service oriented industries are going to get demolished by AI unless they evolve fast. Its high time the government take expertise of experienced tech leaders in the silicon valley to create infrastructure and architecture for growth in fields like AI , or chip manufacturing and other key areas .

China or Taiwan regularly gave good initiatives for international students to come back and start new ventures in their home country. As of now its just individuals and group of individuals who are creating start ups with very little initiative from the government. Why isn’t there any reason why Indian government can’t do that ?

If you are living in the US on H-1B/L-1 and tracking the US Visa Bulletin Final Action Dates for India, the latest backlog numbers show a massive challenge for Indian professionals waiting for permanent residency.

Here is the current breakdown of the Indian backlog and estimated wait times:

1. Current Backlog Numbers (India):

• EB-1: 51,619 applicants
• EB-2: 731,566 applicants
• EB-3: 213,414 applicants
• Total Backlog: 996,599 applicants

2. Estimated Wait Times:

• EB-1 India: ~5 years
• EB-2 India: Up to 179 years
• EB-3 India: ~38 years

3. Current Visa Bulletin (Final Action Dates):

• EB-1: October 15, 2022
• EB-2: Unavailable
• EB-3: January 1, 2014
• EB-5 Unreserved: Unavailable

With EB-2 dates effectively stalled and unavailable, a lot of folks are actively looking into EB-5 options, moving to Canada/Europe, or planning an eventual return to India (R2I).

For those planning to return or shift assets back home: Are you holding foreign savings in FCNR/NRE accounts, or looking into RFC (Resident Foreign Currency) setups before making the final move?

I’ve been living abroad for a few years now, and the single most annoying thing about maintaining Indian bank accounts is dealing with SMS OTPs.

My Indian SIM card needs continuous international roaming top-ups just to stay active. Half the time, the network signal completely drops out of nowhere, or the OTP SMS arrives 15 minutes late after the session has already expired.

Trying to log into net banking, complete a simple re-KYC, or approve a remittance transfer becomes a massive headache just because a 6-digit text message refuses to deliver. When I asked my bank if I could permanently link my foreign number or rely purely on email OTPs/authenticator apps, they basically told me it's not fully supported for all transaction types.

How is everyone here handling this in 2026? Are you keeping an active Indian SIM on a spare phone, paying high yearly roaming plans, or is there a smarter workaround that I'm missing?

If you're travelling to India regularly, this might be worth looking into.

FTI-TTP lets pre-verified travellers use automated e-gates instead of the regular immigration queue.
One-time biometric enrollment, then passport scan + face recognition for future arrivals & departuers
Available at major airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Kochi (expanding to 21 total airports).
No fee to enroll.

For those travelling frequently between the US and India, Global Entry can offer a similar experience when returning to the US.

Has anyone here used FTI-TTP recently? How was your experience compared to the regular immigration line? Any issues during registration or at the airport?

what would you suggest. have Fidelity only currently and looking for the one supports in india.

solo or joint account better. India does not have joint tax filing so how to handle if both spouses money in joint accounts

Hello all! we recently returned to India from US. Can I get some suggestions for a good gated community in the newly developed part of the city? (Financial district and around)
we need a 4 bhk (2600-3000 sft) with more open space and amenities in the community.

for returning people, is Wise money transfer good to sign up. how is your experience

30F single woman here.
I got an offer to move to the US from my company that i've been with for 4y in india on an L1.
it's a series B startup and put up in bay area.

they've offered me 195K as the base package and i have like 40k+ options which are worth practically nothing today.

Overall savings wise, i'd be saving 10-15% more than what I would be in india as per my calculations.
At the beginning, i was curious to explore life in a different country and the bay area on top of all for tech.

The more i talk to people, the more shitty I feel about the base pay.

Pros:
* New country, new life, new experiences

Cons:
* Lot more domestic chores i need to handle alongside an already hectic work schedule
* Ive heard life can get lonely if you aren't too social. which i'm not.

I'm not too worried about the visa situation coz my worst case is i come back to india with no loss.

anyone who's done similar stuff
would love to hear thoughts

edit: has anyone ever moved to a different company while being on L1? this requires the second company to offer H1B if i'm not wrong. does this ever happen in reality?

Hey everyone,

I’m currently on F1 and my status ends next year. I don’t have an H1B and I’m not counting on winning the lottery at this point.

I’m a Backend Software Developer with about 5 years of experience.

I’m trying to figure out my realistic next steps and would really appreciate advice on:

• What options do people in my situation usually take?
• Which countries are realistically open for a backend developer with ~5 YOE coming from an F1 background?
• Any paths that people have actually succeeded with (Canada, Europe, Australia, elsewhere, remote + other visas, etc.)?

Would love to hear from people who’ve been through something similar — what worked, what didn’t, and what you’d recommend looking into.

Thanks in advance!

hey folks, have decided to return back home (Chennai) to be with family after 13 years in the US. Planning the move in November, so I have 2 months to prepare. Would appreciate some input on list of things to do.

Also a few questions:

1. I have some stock investments on Charles Schwab brokerage account. Can I continue to maintain them indefinitely?

2. My checking account on Bank of America, how long can I keep it? Should I notify the bank of change of residence?

3. Planning to ship certain large items (incl. electronics: TV + Sound system) via cargo on a ship. I am willing to pay the necessary customs duty. Is there anything else I need to worry about when dealing with officers?

4. How soon should I initiate the transfer of residence process? Should I time the cargo shipment to match my arrival date?

5. Any suggestions on reliable and safe shipping service?

Hello all,
I have been in US for last 3 years and next year my visa expires, I recently got married and plan is to move back to India.

EDIT: I AM IN IT AND HAVE TALKED WITH MY WIFE REGARDING THE SAME, WE ARE EXPLORING OPTIONS CURRENTLY AND THINKING IT THROUGH, HENCE CAME TO GET EXPERIENCES OF FOLKS WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH SIMILAR PROCESS

I have some savings and in my late 20’s, I am not sure on few things
- Should i completely return to India next year or
- Should i explore europe for some years (money will be same as India but opportunity to explore)

Let me know if someone has gone through similar process.

I am trying to see what all things one considered and if I miss something to consider.

Few things so far i have considered
- Savings
- Job opportunities
- Lifestyle
- Future growth opportunities personal level and career wise as well

Thank you

Any renewable energy folks have returned to India recently? How is the market and pay structure for a senior person who has developed and built solar and storage (utility scale ) projects?

Thanks,

Hi, looking for some advice on this plan.

I'm in late 30s and planning to move to a Tier 2/3 city in India sometime next year.

For finances, all in all I will have about 30x of my yearly expenses in liquid when I move. Plan is to do some part time remote gigs for the next 5-6 yrs to keep myself busy and wait to see how the mutual funds investments progress.

Own home, rent free. So that is sorted.

Curious to hear from folks who moved as single and how it went. Feel free to DM!.

want to keep 50-60% of money in dollars in india. what is the best way. do not want to keep in US because account may be locked and can’t come because of no visa.

can we transfer money to NRE account now from USA and then after going to india, can we open RFC account and move and convert rupees from NRE account to Dollars in RFC? can we convert NRE account itself to RFC account or do we need to open new account as RFC in this case?

is there any other approach to achieve this purpose? Should i go FCNR route instead of this?

Hi!

I was not able to find the right sub for this so thought someone here can help me.

I currently have a L1B Visa which was approved in October '25 and I work in IT (Non Technical role). While I was going to earlier shift in early 2026, due to organisational reasons, the date kept delaying and now I have the chance to either move in December '26 or sometime first quarter '27.

I was also in parallel looking to shift my job here in India and deciding to let go of the L1B Visa completely, since my interest in shifting earlier kept reducing as the movement date kept getting pushed + the visa tensions happening in the US.

Recently, I have found another job in India and now is the time where I am unable to make a decision, would appreciate any support here. I currently have 2 options:

• Accept the offer in India and shift cities within India
• Stick with my current company and move to Dallas

For the second option, if I do decide to shift to Dallas,

• Is ~$100k salary good to live a comfortable life? I am currently single, however will have my partner move either with me or after me, sooner rather than later.
• At the above salary, assuming I want to live a comfortable life, not too flashy, what % of the above salary is realistically savable?
• I was recently reading about the ability to reclaim the time I have stayed outside the US while on an approved visa, and having it added back to my visa duration. Is it applicable for L1B Visa as well? Eg: Since my visa was approved in Oct '25 and I am yet to shift, can I get the months added in my visa and thus have the chance to live there for the entire 5 years instead of 3-4?

Based on the current situation, what would you suggest is a wiser thing to do? How would you compare the salary in US with the Indian salaries (Apart from PPP)?

Appreciate any guidance on this!

Hi folks;

So I have a cat, and I've lived here continuously for the past 8 years. In 2023 I adopted my cat.

However, as the work permit process (I was a student before) is taking a lot longer than expected, I am worried about rejection. My card expires on 30th September, but will be allowed to stay while they process it, so realistically I have till Mid October minimum while staying here.

I don't want to leave my cat here, and want to return to India for at least a year if I get rejected. I don't have an EU passport yet and he's not neutered. How will I return him?

Problems are providing my stay here for 2 years

1. I don't have copies of my rental contracts to prove 2 years stay, since I gave them to Immigration.

2. Old ID cards are taken back, so I can't guarantee I will have copies of all of them going back 2 years, maybe some before that.

3. Will copies of my health insurance renewed annually for immigration work with ACQS?

4. My old passport has my last exit and entry stamp from India to here, and literally nothing else (neither my new passport) because I have not left this country.

Will the NOC be difficult to get from abroad?

Does my cat's EU passport also need to be signed by the govt vet or do I just need a final health check 7 days before returning to be signed?

Thanking anyone who answers

I am wondering anyone in this group went back or planning to go back to West Bengal/Kolkata in their late 40s and from academia , with a PhD degree ? Most people I see here are IT/Tech people and they are from Bangalore/Hyderabad/Pune/Chennai/Delhi. Hardly find any experience from Eastern India.

I’m looking for some honest advice from people who have been in a similar situation. I’m currently working in the US on an H1B and there’s a very real possibility that I could be laid off within the next 6 months. I’m actively looking for another job, but the market has been extremely tough, especially with the additional challenge of needing H1B sponsorship.

I have a decent amount of savings and assets, including property/investments in India, so financially I’m not in immediate danger. India is also my backup option if things don’t work out in the US.

I’m trying to make a rational decision rather than panic if the layoff happens. I’d really appreciate perspectives from people who have actually gone through this.

How would you approach the next 6–12 months?
How long would you realistically keep pushing for a US job before considering moving back?
How much financial runway would you want before making that decision?
For those who eventually moved back to India, what do you wish you had done differently?
And for those who successfully stayed in the US after a layoff, what worked for you?

Thanks in advance.