Until recently, many NRIs in the U.S. had several opportunities to pursue businesses alongside their regular jobs. Some worked full-time while also running IT consultancies. Others operated restaurants or ventured into areas such as cinema distribution and real estate.
However, over the past few years, many of these additional business opportunities have either disappeared or become much more difficult to sustain.
The cinema distribution business is one example. Earlier, individual NRIs often purchased overseas distribution rights for Telugu films and released them independently. That model is now becoming less common.
Producers are increasingly handing over distribution and release responsibilities to a single person or company for an agreed percentage of revenue. As a result, the traditional NRI model of buying overseas rights and distributing films has largely declined.
The consultancy business has also come under pressure. With tighter H-1B policies and increased scrutiny of immigration and staffing practices, the traditional IT consultancy model has become more difficult. Many small consultancy owners have either reduced their operations significantly or shut them down altogether.
The restaurant business is also facing serious challenges. One major problem is the shortage and rising cost of cooks and other workers. Increased immigration enforcement and ICE raids have created additional difficulties for businesses that depend heavily on immigrant labour.
As a result, some restaurant owners have closed their businesses, while others are operating with tight margins and reduced staff.
Real estate activity has slowed as well. The broader economic slowdown, weaker business income and reduced liquidity among NRI investors have affected property investments.
Even investments in Indian real estate, which were once common among NRIs, appear to have slowed.
As a result, many NRI professionals are now keeping a low profile and focusing mainly on their salaried jobs. They are avoiding additional business ventures because the opportunities that once provided extra income have either reduced or become too risky.
The larger impact is on cash flow and money circulation. With additional business income drying up, NRIs have less surplus money for investments, property purchases and other spending.
This could also affect the flow of money from the U.S. NRI community into India, particularly through business investments and property purchases.
In short, the NRI community appears to be moving from a period of multiple income streams — salary, consultancy, restaurants, cinema distribution and real estate — to a more conservative model centred mainly around regular salaried employment.
