u/Cultural-Ad-1460

Hi everyone,
Using a throwaway for obvious reasons. I’m currently in a bit of a dilemma and could really use some perspective from this community.

Background:
• Experience: 8.5 years as a Senior SDE (Backend/Systems). In my early 30s.

• Current Situation: Got hit by the latest round of layoffs 3 weeks ago. Clock is ticking on the 60-day grace period.

• Financials: My spouse (on h4, also an engineer. We have no child) and I have been in the US since our Masters. We own a home in CA with a decent amount of equity. If we sell, we can probably net around $950k - $ 1m after all fees. (edit: We have $250k in cash and liquid stocks (post-tax) sitting in our brokerage/HYSA. This is for the next 12-18 months if needed.)

The Dilemma:
I’ve been getting a lot of pings on LinkedIn from recruiters, but as soon as I mention H1B sponsorship, the conversation ends. It’s brutal out here right now.

Option 1: EB-5 (Concurrent Filing)
We can sell the house and dump almost all our liquid net worth into an EB-5 Rural project ($800k). Since we are currently in the US, we can do concurrent filing (I-526E & I-485) and get an EAD/AP in 4-6 months. This solves the "sponsorship" issue and gives us peace of mind. But it means putting nearly all our eggs in one basket with an "at-risk" investment.

Option 2: R2I and Retirement
We’ve been feeling the burnout lately. If we sell the house and move back with our savings, we’d have a corpus of roughly ₹7.5 - ₹8 Crores. According to my math, for a family of three in a Tier-1 city (Bangalore or Hyderabad), this could potentially fund a very comfortable lean-FIRE lifestyle, or at least a very low-stress job.

My concerns:

1. Is EB-5 worth the opportunity cost of $800k in this market?
2. For those who R2I’d after a layoff, do you regret not fighting harder to stay?
3. With 8+ YOE, what’s the realistic TC I can expect in India right now if I decide not to retire? I'm seeing ranges from ₹50L to ₹1Cr, but not sure how the market is for "returning" folks.

Any advice or "brutally honest" reality checks would be appreciated.

Hi all, I’d really appreciate any insights from people who’ve been in a similar situation.

My situation:

- I’m on H1B with approved I-140

- Got laid off, last day (termination date): July 1

- My 60-day grace period ends around Aug 30

- My wife is on H4 + valid EAD (currently working)

- She has an approved H1B (COS) starting Oct 1

What we’re trying to do:

- I just want to stay legally in the U.S.

- Ideally, my wife continues working as long as possible until Oct 1

What lawyers told us (conflicting advice):

1. Lawyer A said:

   - File my H4 COS + her H1B COS

   - Both get approved before grace period ends

   - We can stay in the U.S. during September as “authorized stay”

   - BUT she should NOT work during the grace period and September

2. Lawyer B suggested:

   - Premium process her h1b and my H4

   - Leave the U.S. before grace period ends

   - Re-enter after Oct 1 with H1B/H4 visas (cleanest but more complex). $100k might kick in

My main questions:

- Is it really required for my wife to stop working in the grace period?

- Has anyone successfully continued working on H4 EAD during this kind of transition?

- Is staying in the U.S. without working in September considered “safe” long-term (for future H1B/GC)?

- Is leaving the U.S. actually necessary, or just the most conservative option?

Any real experiences or insights would be super helpful. Thanks a lot!