Watch: Raised My US Citizen Kids in India ... Here's What Happened? | NRI | OCI

2:59 Worked from 1999 till almost 2002 in the US and then I had a brief hiatus of 6 months in India. Then again came back on H1 for around a year or so. >> Got it. >> Then finally by 2004 after my second child was born in the US I left the United States.

3:22 My daughter was is academically gifted, right? So, I just want to say that, right? I just want to set the perspective that holding a OCI card and a foreign passport is a advantage or was a advantage competitively if you are looking at getting into premier colleges in India. However, there's a nuance, right? I just want to share that. It depends on what your child is trying to pursue. If the child is trying to pursue or if there is a very strong urge to stay focused in engineering, right? And do STEM related subjects. As far as I know, if you're talking of premier colleges in India like the IIT, you still have to make sure you compete in IIT JEE and clear JEE Advanced.

4:15 It They will not take you unless you crack the JEE Advanced. They will not dilute the entry criteria. So, I think the bar is very high even for OCI kids to be able to crack into IIT. However, little which I researched because my son showed initial interest in engineering, then he dropped that. There is an option called DASA, which allows you to get into and there are things like the supernumerary seats, where you can try and get into triple IITs or NITs directly for foreign nationals, right? But, I think you will have to explore and see because these rules are changing all the time. The trade-off there is that you will have to pay almost five X or 10 X depending on what the Indian nationals are paying.

5:05 So, that cost-benefit risk analysis will need to be done. If they have the optionality to study in the United States and let's say you have the money to be able to send them to the United States, you have to be able to look at what is a trade-off and then make a call. So, that is with respect to engineering and I I have limited knowledge on that. I will not be able to share more. Now, with respect to NEET, as far as I know, in government colleges in India again, the entry is extremely competitive. If you are trying to get or go through that route, you will have to check because I think each state has its own guidelines. If you are I think probably some private colleges do allow you to get through a supernumerary route. Again, it's very, very expensive.

5:53 It's beyond the reach of most Indians, right? These seats which are out there. that's the second use case. Now, with respect to my children, I zero in. they my daughter had a exceptional 10 plus two score. She was able to get into every National Law University through the supernumerary quota. She got calls from everywhere. She got it from NLSIU Bangalore. She got it from NALSAR. She got it from from the NLU which they have in Delhi. She got calls from everywhere. Now, the thing there is which I just want to be very clear about is that they have a very, very small quota of seats. in case of National Law University Bangalore, they had four.

6:38 That was throughout the country. And she was ranked two over there. so, it's not that, you know, if you have a substandard score, you will walk in. It's not possible. Is it easier compared to say like giving CLAT? I would say probably yes, but it's going to get materially harder as more and more people realize this optionality and they start competing. So, it may become I don't know what the future holds, but it would be harder. I'm not saying it will be it will be impossible. For my son, again, the thing was that after his 10 plus two, he applied to he got into Narsee Monjee. He got into Narsee Monjee and he got into Delhi University.

7:25 Delhi University is again extremely competitive. it has a mechanism where it allows foreign students from all over the world to apply. So, you have again students which are coming from African countries, Middle East, including India, Afghanistan, Nepal. There's a pool of people which apply for these colleges which are there, and they have a few seats reserved in each college for foreign nationals. So, you compete, but you have to compete within that pool, right? You have to You have to again, it's merit. It's not that you can you just walk in, you give your passport, and they admit you. It's not like that. So, he competed, he got into a pretty reputable college in Delhi University. He graduated. He's now working for Bain Consulting in Gurugram.

8:17 Yeah. The optionality exists. It is a advantage. How much of a competitive advantage it will continue to be, I don't know. But, it is there. One more thing in You can do post graduation also from Delhi University. FMS has seats which are reserved supernumerary for foreign nationals, not NRIs. So, you need to have foreign passport. and the cut-off is again based on your GMAT percentile. So, you don't have to appear for CAT or their competitive exam, but you must do exceptionally on the GMAT to be able to get into that particular course. >> So, like I said, it's not It's not open sesame. You cannot get into premium colleges in India flashing a foreign passport.

9:05 It's not It's easy, but it's not It's not a super easy. Is it easier than like competing brutally? I would say yes. In my experience, I would say yes. So, there is advantage, but it's an advantage only if you if you have merit.

9:27 The children were at a are were at a period in time where they were now completing their graduations in India, and frankly we're looking at optionality of setting up some kind of a base in the United States. So, my decision is extremely long-term play in the United States. Right now, what I'm looking at, children here, make sure that you know, they I give them a landing zone, and then probably move back to India at a opportune time. I am at the end of my maybe towards the very end of my career, maybe 62, 65.

10:20 Can you during this period, you know, save enough for your coming retirement in in rupees, and then hopefully, if you are able to get optionality of a US passport, then you know, you get the benefit of traveling worldwide. You have a very powerful passport, which you can use. You could You could have a OCI card in and the other reason why I came back is because I got a green card, right? So, I was not in the H1B L1 hell right now, which people are facing. Because my daughter had turned 21, she could sponsor me, and I got the IR5 visa in within 2 years. So, that optionality existed.

11:07 Once that optionality came on the table, then it was you know, then the mind If you don't have an option, then you will not think about these things. If you have an option, then you exercise it and say, "Okay, I have this optionality. Let me figure out and see whether that optionality works. If it works, great, then I capitalize on it. If it doesn't, then I fall back, right? I have an option. I can go back to India. It's not like you know, it's all doom and gloom and fortunately for me, I don't have to hang in this country by the skin of my teeth, right? I have that optionality. At any time I can move back. I can even give up my green card and go back, right? I mean, if things don't work out. >> Sure. >> it's a calculated gamble, I would say.

11:51 India has changed a lot. Recently, if you look at the past 4-5 years, 6 years, opportunities are galore. You can make a lot of money there. The salaries have risen exponentially. A lot of product companies, startups are coming in places like Bangalore. So, yes, the optionality exists. Did it happen throughout my career? No, I saw that take off only sometime after 2015, but not before that. So, this phenomenon is recent. Till 2015, I would say pretty much most of the work or bulk of the work was being done by services and the salaries were not that great. I mean, they were good, but not great. So, that is what I think the single biggest thing which a person needs to take into account in their calculus is what do they want out of life. If you if you want to stay in the United States, then you will earn in dollars, but you will spend in dollars, correct?

12:47 If you plan to take towards the end of your career, make a decision that no, I have had enough in this country and then I would move to the to India for good, I can guarantee you that you know, your net worth maximization compared to somebody who's been working 20 years in India would be at least 3x to 4x. Depends on what your you know, what your financial situation is. If you are a person with two income family, probably it may be even 6x or 8x. So, a dollar earned here will stretch far more in India and you would have a lifestyle ever have in this country. I think that is one, right? Which I want to call out very clearly. Your parents are the people who who played a very important role in your life.

13:44 Think very hard about will you be able to live with the fact that in their elder years they are all alone and isolated. If you are and see this is a extremely hard and a sensitive question for lots of people. But I would say think very hard on what your and there is no right or wrong. Each person's situation is different. So I would say think about that trade-off and take a informed decision. That is all what I would urge people to do. So we have our we have ourselves, we have our children, but we also have aging parents and a lot of aging parents will never want to come and settle in this country at least willingly. They will not, right? They have deep roots, they have deep social structures.

14:40 So think of that and work out a system. I mean, if you if you feel that you can't be there for them for whatever reason, think of ways you can mitigate their discomfort in their old age as much as possible. And look at ways so that you know you can make sure that they are they are com- as comfortable as possible.