Former Meta technician Hemant Pandey, who decided to return to India after eight years in the US, reflected on his life decision and said both he and his wife were happier in India because of the social circle. Pandey told career coach Pritesh Jagani’s podcast that he decided to leave the US because he didn’t like the H-1B restrictions and despite the huge pay gap between the US and India, Pandey said he would always choose India over any other country like Canada or any European country. Pandey said the United States was the best country for a career because one could earn and save a lot of money, but his second favorite was India – although he said he missed the blue skies and blue seas.Pandey said that in addition to working in technology in the United States, he also started producing content, but he was not allowed to monetize his content because he was an H-1B, which was one of the reasons why they left the United States.
How much does it cost for an NRI to return to India?
Pandey said he came to the United States in 2016 to pursue a master’s degree in computer science. His first job was at Tesla. He was lucky enough to be selected in the H-1B lottery on his first try, but he was fired from Tesla. He found another job, obtained an H-1B visa, and the company was processing his green card application.In December 2024, Pandey returned to India and continued working remotely for Meta for several months. Then he took a career break, went on vacation, and now he’s been working for LinkedIn in Bengaluru for the past few months.On the ‘Back to India’ fund, Pandey said it would depend on individual cases, whether they have parents in India, whether they have children, but one should not chase a number and should not be tied to a certain amount. Pandey said that for some NRIs, even Rs 5 crore is not enough if their children have to attend international schools in India or if they plan to buy a villa in India. Pandey said he had a number in mind and once that number was reached they would return to India. Pandey did not reveal specific figures, but said he had set aside funds to buy property in one of India’s first-tier cities. Plus, neither he nor his wife will retire, so the corpus fund is in addition to their Indian income.If a nonresident plans to return to India, earning one-third of his U.S. income in India is enough to warrant consideration, Pandey said.Pandey said NRIs planning to return to India should not pursue a specific amount of funding but should fix a date for relocation as this part is more difficult.
life in india and america
Hemant said life in the United States seemed boring because people didn’t know their neighbors there. Unlike India, the work culture here is that colleagues don’t hang out after get off work. People do the same thing every day, which leaves a lot of room for self-improvement, introspection, etc. In India, life is chaotic, but with housekeeping and 10-minute delivery, this saves a lot of time, which is spent reaching the office. But he is happy because he does not need to apply for a visa to meet his parents.
