NRI Playbook

The First Year: a handbook for Indians moving to the US

A 95-page guide from the day you arrive through your first year-end, with the forms, real numbers, and the math in dollars and rupees. $9.95 on Amazon.

Read a free sample (15 pages) →

Your employer's orientation covered the 401(k) enrollment deadline and the dental plans. It probably did not cover the FBAR you need to file by next April, the PPF account in India that the US treats as a foreign financial asset, whether your spouse needs an SSN or an ITIN (Form W-7), the W-4 line many people fill in wrong, or the fact that Indian salary from before you arrived may need to go on your first US return, depending on how you choose your residency status.

This handbook covers the things that seem minor in your first six months but make a big difference by year five.

What's inside

Eight parts and 95 pages. You can read each section on its own.

Part 01

The First Week
  • The 90-day clock and the two hard deadlines
  • Documentation to retrieve and preserve
  • The Social Security Number application
  • Your first US bank account
  • Proof of US residence

Part 02

Setting Up Money
  • Selecting a primary bank
  • Building credit from a zero baseline
  • What moves a FICO score in the first 12 months
  • Wire transfers and the US-to-India default
  • Indian-side accounts: the 60-day window

Part 03

Your First Job (and How You Get Paid)
  • The W-2 structure
  • 401(k) enrollment and the employer match
  • Health Savings Account (HSA)
  • Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)

Part 04

Healthcare, Housing, Year-1 Taxes
  • Plan selection: HDHP+HSA versus PPO
  • Renting an apartment without US credit history
  • Year-1 US taxes: resident, NRA, or dual-status
  • State tax positioning
  • The 90-day compliance window

Part 05

The Cross-Border Edition
  • NRO re-designation: the day-30 mandatory step
  • Opening NRE and FCNR accounts from the US
  • PPF, NPS, LIC, EPF: treatment under non-resident status
  • The FBAR threshold: $10,000.01 aggregate maximum
  • Sending money between the US and India

Part 06

The First Year Wrap-Up
  • The first US tax filing
  • The Indian tax filing for the year of departure
  • The year-end financial checklist
  • Compounding decisions: years 2, 5, and 10
  • When to engage a cross-border CPA

Part 07

For Students Arriving on F-1 Visas
  • F-1 fundamentals and the SSN question
  • Money setup and health insurance for students
  • Work authorization: CPT, OPT, STEM OPT
  • Year-1 taxes for F-1 students
  • The F-1 → OPT → H-1B arc

Part 08

References and Resources
  • US and Indian government agencies with URLs
  • US-India Tax Treaty (DTAA) article index
  • Statutory and regulatory citations
  • Forms index: US and Indian forms
Get the handbook

95 pages in eight parts, with the forms and numbers you need

Read the free sample to see whether the book is right for you. The full handbook is on Amazon.

Read a free sample →

Sample: Foreword + Part 1 in full · 15 pages · PDF

The Student Edition

The First Year on an F-1 Visa

A shorter handbook for Indian students. In 57 pages it covers the I-20 and SEVIS registration, getting an on-campus job so you can apply for an SSN, paying tuition under the LRS and TCS rules, the deadline to waive student health insurance, how CPT and OPT work, Form 8843 and the 1040-NR, and the path from F-1 to OPT to H-1B.

Eight parts. Written for students who don't have family in the US who have been through this before.

57 pages · Eight parts · DRM-free PDF and Kindle