Should You Stay for RSU Vesting or Return to India First?

(UNITED STATES) For many Indian workers and students in the United States 🇺🇸, the first time they see Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) is in an offer letter, where the cash salary looks clear but the equity line looks like a mystery. Then real life hits: a visa end date, a job change, a green card wait, or a plan to move back to India 🇮🇳 for family, health, or a new role. At that point, RSUs stop being a “nice extra” and start acting like a clock tied to immigration status, employment rules, and tax residency.

This guide lays out a practical process you can follow to decide whether you should return to India before or after your RSUs vest, based strictly on the concrete factors in the source material: unvested value, work authorization and employment continuity, company policy on international vesting, the U.S. vs. India tax bill, and your own liquidity and immigration priorities. You’ll also see what to ask your employer and what to expect from authorities, so you can plan with fewer surprises. According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, timing mistakes around equity and visas are one of the most common ways high-skilled workers lose money when moving across borders.

What RSUs are (and when they become “real”)

Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) are not cash in your pocket on day one, and they aren’t even shares on day one. They are a company promise to give you shares later, if you meet conditions. The key condition is usually time in the job: you must still be employed when each vesting date arrives.

RSUs typically move through three stages:

1. Grant
   • Your employer promises a set number of units.
   • You do not own shares yet.
   • No tax is due at grant (based on the provided content).
2. Vesting
   • Units convert into actual company shares over time (often over four years in many plans, though schedules vary).
   • Vesting almost always requires continued employment.
   • On each vesting date:
     • RSUs become real shares.
     • The fair market value (FMV) becomes taxable income.
3. Sale (optional)
   • After vesting, you may sell or hold.
   • Any price increase after vesting is taxed as capital gains.

Main practical point: RSUs only become real money when they vest. If you leave before vesting and your plan does not protect you, the unvested part is usually forfeited.

Step 1 — Inventory your unvested RSU value before travel or resignation

Before you compare taxes or immigration timelines, you need one number: how much you would give up if you leave early. The source is clear that this is measurable, not a guess.

Actions to take (same day you start planning):

• Pull your RSU grant agreement and log in to your company equity portal.
• Identify:
  • How many units are unvested
  • The upcoming vesting dates
  • Whether vesting is time-based only or has extra conditions (some plans add performance conditions)

Simple calculation from the source:
– Unvested RSUs × Current Market Price

Notes:
– That won’t be your after-tax value, but it is the cleanest first estimate of what is at risk.
– If the number is large, the rest of this process matters even more — a timing error can mean forfeiting assets you already counted on for a home down payment, children’s education, or a business plan in India.

What to expect from your employer at this stage:
– Equity portals usually show vest schedules clearly, but the legal terms live in plan documents.
– If anything looks inconsistent, ask your equity team to confirm in writing.

Step 2 — Match each vesting date to your work authorization and employment continuity

RSU vesting is linked to being employed, and your ability to work is linked to immigration status. The source frames this as a “binary immigration issue”: either your work authorization covers the vesting date and you stay employed, or it doesn’t.

Here’s how that plays out by common status.

If you are on F-1 OPT or STEM OPT

• The source states: RSUs cannot vest after EAD expiration.
• If OPT ends before the vesting date, RSUs are lost.

Process step:
– Line up each vesting date against the end date on your Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
– If you are filing to extend OPT (for example, STEM OPT), treat approval timing as a risk factor. Do not assume you can keep working until you have valid work authorization.

Official reference: the EAD is issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS explains employment authorization and EAD basics here: USCIS Employment Authorization.

If you need to apply for or renew an EAD, the form is Form I-765: Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

If you are on H-1B

• RSUs vest only while employed.
• If your H-1B is valid and you are employed on the vesting date, RSUs vest.
• If your employment ends, vesting stops immediately.

Process step:
– Confirm your H-1B validity period and your employment continuity through each vest.
– If you are switching employers, treat the changeover period as sensitive, because vesting is often tied to active employment status in the HR system, not just visa status.

If your employer files for H-1B classification, the standard petition is Form I-129: Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker.

If you are in the employment-based green card process

• The source warns: pending applications do not protect RSUs and employment continuity is still required.

Process step:
– Don’t assume that filing a green card stage means you can safely leave before vesting. You still need to meet the employer plan’s conditions, which are usually about being employed on the vesting date.

If you are filing adjustment of status, the form is Form I-485: Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

Step 3 — Get a written answer on international or remote vesting before you book a one-way flight

Many people assume, “I’ll just move to India and keep vesting.” The source is blunt: this depends on written company policy, and in practice most U.S. employers do not allow RSU vesting after relocation.

Vesting might continue only if both of these are true (per the source):

• You transfer to an Indian entity of the same company, and
• The equity plan explicitly permits international vesting.

Process step (do this before resigning or transferring):
– Email HR or the equity compensation team with a direct question:
– “If I relocate to India, will my RSUs continue to vest under the equity plan? If yes, please confirm the conditions in writing.”
– Ask what happens if you become an employee of an Indian affiliate:
– Does the same grant continue?
– Will it be replaced with a new India grant?
– Will vesting pause during the transfer?

What to expect:
– HR may reply with a policy summary. Ask for the plan section or written confirmation, because informal statements can conflict with the grant agreement.

Step 4 — Compare U.S. and India taxes based on where you are when vesting happens

Taxes are where people get hurt twice: first with withholding they didn’t expect, and later with filing duties they didn’t plan for. The source frames this as a numerical calculation, and that is the right mindset. You are not choosing the country you like; you are comparing the tax outcome you can document.

If RSUs vest while you are working in the United States 🇺🇸

• FMV at vest is treated as salary income.
• Taxes are withheld automatically by the employer.
• Income is reported to you and the Internal Revenue Service.
• Extra tax may apply later if you sell at a profit.

Process step:
– Expect withholding at vest. Many companies sell some shares automatically (“sell-to-cover”) to pay withholding. Confirm how your employer handles it so you aren’t shocked by fewer shares landing in your brokerage account.

If RSUs vest after you return to India 🇮🇳

• In India, vested RSU value is taxed as salary income.
• The maximum slab mentioned is 30% + surcharge + cess.
• Capital gains tax applies when shares are sold.
• Double taxation relief may apply, but compliance in both countries is required.

Process step:
– Treat this as a cross-border tax event. Even if India is your new home, the vesting event may still have U.S. reporting or withholding depending on how the company administers the plan and how services were performed.
– You need professional advice for your exact case, but planning point is clear: don’t assume “moving” makes the U.S. side disappear.

What to expect from authorities:
– In the United States, employers report wage-like equity income through standard payroll systems when vesting happens during U.S. employment, and you may still have U.S. filing duties depending on your tax status.
– In India, you may need to report foreign assets and foreign income based on your residency and local rules.

Step 5 — Use a decision matrix that starts with the “hard no” factors

The source calls this decision “not subjective” for four of the five determinants. Before you debate lifestyle or family timing, clear the blockers.

Work through this order:

1. Will you be employed on the vesting dates?
   • If no, unvested RSUs are usually forfeited.
2. Will you have valid work authorization on the vesting dates?
   • For F-1 OPT/STEM OPT, the source warns you can’t vest after EAD expiration.
   • For H-1B, you must still be employed and in valid status.
3. Does your employer allow international vesting or an India transfer that keeps vesting alive?
   • If no, then “vest or forfeit” is often the real choice.
4. What is the unvested value you are walking away from?
   • The source emphasizes you can measure it precisely.
5. Only after that: liquidity versus immigration priorities
   • This is the preference-based part.

Matrix-style outcomes from the source:
– High RSU value + valid visa: stay until vesting.
– Visa expires before vesting: return before vesting.
– Employer disallows international vesting: vest or forfeit.
– High U.S. tax but large RSUs: vest anyway (source view).
– Immigration risk outweighs equity: leave early.

Practical timeline: what to do 3–4 pay cycles before your move

People often start planning too late, after a manager already expects a resignation date. A safer process is to begin while you still have time to adjust.

Phase A — Build your “RSU and status calendar”

• List every vesting date and expected share count.
• Add:
  • EAD end date (if applicable)
  • H-1B end date (if applicable)
  • Any planned travel that could interrupt employment
  • Your target India move date

This gives you one view of where risk clusters.

Phase B — Ask the employer the questions that decide everything

Get answers to:
– “Do I forfeit unvested RSUs if I resign?”
– “If I transfer to India, does vesting continue?”
– “Is remote work from India allowed, and does that change payroll or equity treatment?”

Expect some answers to be “no,” and plan around the written policy, not hope.

Phase C — Run a U.S.–India tax comparison for vest-now vs. vest-later

The source stresses this is numeric. The output you want is not a perfect prediction; it’s a comparison that helps you decide whether it’s worth staying employed through vesting.

Bring to a tax professional:
– Your vest schedule
– Your current state of residence (state taxes can change the U.S. outcome)
– Your expected India move date

Phase D — Make the call, then protect the plan

If the decision is “stay until vesting,” protect it:
– Avoid job changes right before key vest dates unless you know your plan’s rules.
– Keep documents: grant agreement, pay statements showing equity income, and any HR emails about international vesting.

If the decision is “return before vesting,” accept what that means:
– You are choosing immigration or life timing over equity.
– Plan cash needs in India without counting unvested RSUs.

Final warning from the source: never assume RSUs will follow you after you leave the United States.

This process helps you convert uncertainty into concrete questions and numeric trade-offs so you can make the move that fits your immigration priorities and financial reality.