Why this diary?. RI asked me to write one. As simple as that!. If you think I am wasting your time, you know whom to contact :). Warning: This is a self-proclaimed boring diary. If you need interesting things to read, please stay with PG's Blog/Maya's blog/H&B/Chat Corner threads.
Brief Background:
Came to US in 2000. Proud holder of 7 H1B visas in my passport.
Wife : Only one (sigh...). SAHM (Status H4).
Kid : 6 year old (USC)
Why R2I?.
Because I am in this forum and would like to put to use all the advise given here sometime:). Also, RRS mentioned that Annachi has soft corner for folks who R2I :) and would like to be in his good books :).
Primary Reason:
Our original plan was 2011 but had to accelerate this a bit due to the following.
We got the recent allergy report for our kid during end of August and we found that all his allergies had gone from bad to worse. We were under the impression that he would've outgrown a few of them but everything seemed to have flared up. Winters are usually miserable for him, so we don't know if it would improve in India but can't get any worse. It usually ends up in Oral Steroids for him (external steroids don't work for him in winter). We plan to try Ayurveda/Homeopathy treatment in India. Of course, the reasons like our kid getting to know his grandparents better (and get pampered, of course) are always there.
Usually, I am full of contradictions but when I stand by my words, I make it a point to quote it :). In laks's style( I mean Rajini's style), seiyrathan soluven..solarathan seivan ( I do what I say and I say what I do). Here's what I had posted earlier.
farfromhome;210169
6) Do you have plans of R2I now, in near future or for retirement? Maybe in a year or two. My son is allergic and we are hoping that he'll outgrow his allergies between 5 and 7. Also, we want to try Ayurvedic treatment for his allergies in India but don't know how the schools in India will care about his allergies. It's a catch 22 situation. This is the prime concern for r2i. $$$ amount is secondary.
Contributing factors:
R2I now or later doesn't make any difference from a career standpoint. GC mess had been killing my career and as I don't see any difference between now and next year (my firm told me that they don't expect any decision on my I-140 till Feb.2011 or later).
Bit concerned about kids development and social skills and need speech therapy for him. Have been looking a good Pediatric Neurologist, but unable to find one (note to self: Need to respond back to one of Sumachechi's post). Will write in detail in the next post about them.
Permanent/Temporary R2I?:
My wife would have liked to have this R2I earlier, but we had to wait for our flat in Chennai to be completed (got finished in August). We would have ideally wanted this to happen during a school year. At this point, all that takes a back seat. She thinks that it's going to be a permanent R2I and hoping that Ayurveda/Homeopathy will cure kids allergies (as you can see she doesn't read Desi's posts in this forum :) ). I am on mn_op scale regarding this R2I. If things don't improve and stay the same for him, I am not averse to R2A for a few years and then R2I when he's around 9 or 10. Folks in US are more sensitive and aware of allergies . It would be easier for him in USA than in India, till he is mature enough to know what suits him and what to eat and what not to eat. My wife thinks that everything will go fine and our son would be cured of all his allergies and we'll permanently stay back in India. Have no qualms on getting proven wrong on this one :).
Probably my lengthiest post in this forum and my 2,000th useless one :). Will continue in the next post as I need to report now in the H&B thread. If I am absent for a long time there, Chieftain might not like it.
Glossary:
RI : returning_indian
mn_op scale : 50/50 chance
Annachi : RRK
laks : laks0
Chieftain : PG (PeterGriffin)