Silverstars

Unfortunately, my field is on the Skills List for my home country, so I don't see how I can avoid getting the requirement. Almost every field on the planet is on the Skills List, so they have really been comprehensive in creating the list. I have looked into the national interest waiver option, but I am a citizen of India and the backlog in green cards for people from India is so long that the NIW takes forever. This is only true for people from India or China, so if you're not from either of the two countries an NIW is definitely an option. My only shot is the EB-1, which sounds great but the immigration lawyer I talked to said he won't even consider a case where an applicant has less than a 100 citations. In our field, it is very rare for a grad student to have that many citations right when they graduate, even if their work is outstanding. Research in our field is typically slower, which means that even if you have pubs in top journals it takes a few years for people to actually publish work that cites yours. It sounds like the things that matter for an EB-1 are the number of times you've been cited, the number of followers you have on Research Gate, etc. (at least according to the lawyer I talked to). While they do obviously take into account the quality of your pubs, recommendation letters, awards, etc. it seems like some of the criteria is also arbitrary. An EB-1 is really expensive so I feel like I cannot take that risk without knowing I have a good shot at getting it. Do you know what your friend's profile looked like when they applied for an EB-1?

Hi, I am an international student in the social sciences in a field not classified as STEM by DHS. This means that I have 1 year (on OPT) to work in the US after I graduate from my doctoral program. I am exploring postdoc options and I realized that I will most likely get put on a J1 visa if I do find a postdoc with a professor at a university. The J1 visa, unfortunately, comes with a 2 year home residency requirement that requires you to go back to your home country in most cases before you can transfer to a H1B visa or permanent residency. A couple of immigration lawyers I have talked to have told me to avoid this visa like the plague, because getting a waiver of this requirement is really painful and lengthy and can potentially block me from seeking a TT position in the US. No university will hire me without getting this requirement waived, and because the waiver process is long and academic job cycles happen a year in advance, the timing may just not match up. Based on a little research I did, most universities either refuse or seem hesitant to sponsor H1B (work) visas for postdocs, particularly in the current political climate. Students from STEM fields do not have this issue, as their F1 visa allows them to work for 3 years after graduating. There is basically no scope for social science research in my home country, so I really want to stay here. But a postdoc is basically an unofficial requirement for R1 university jobs in my field, and I feel like I'm already at a disadvantage compared to domestic applicants because I cannot get NSF/NIH/USDA postdoctoral fellowships as they are citizenship restricted. If I give up on the postdoc altogether, I'm worried that I won't be competitive for jobs at bigger research schools. So. I'm wondering whether there any other international students in non-STEM fields out there who have had any success stories in dealing with a situation like this (like getting a waiver of the home residency requirement in time to go on the academic job market, or convincing a university to sponsor a H1B for a postdoc)? Or are there people out there in a similar situation, who just want to rant/vent their frustration here?

Hi there! I am also from India, and I had the exact same issue as you when I was looking to apply to the US for grad school. I held a 3 year bachelor's degree in Psychology, and found that most of the good schools would not accept that degree. I ended up transferring to the undergraduate program at the University of Minnesota, and completing extra coursework there. It did take me a year and a half (i.e., three semesters) to complete all of the coursework they required to graduate with a bachelor's degree from there, but it was totally worth it. I gained some really valuable research experiences and received strong letters of recommendation from faculty that made me a much more competitive candidate for graduate school, and I am currently in a PhD program. There are some concerns with transferring though, particularly financially, as there almost no scholarships for international undergraduate students. I managed to make it work with a loan, a campus job and some financial support from my family, but it was definitely an expensive option. It is also almost impossible to finish in one year, so be prepared for it to take at least two. One thing to keep in mind is that every university has different requirements for the bachelor's degree and some may not even let you transfer if you already hold an Indian bachelor's degree (these are usually places that DO accept the Indian bachelor's degree, though), so finding universities that will take you and don't have too many requirements requires a LOT of research. I don't think the US has any diploma programs you can use as a substitution for your 4th year and I have never heard of international students at community colleges (although you should look into it as it might be cheaper), so transferring might be your best bet if you're very keen on coming here. If you're not, there are cheaper options such as pursuing a master's in India first, or considering going to the UK or other European countries, where they do accept Indian bachelor's degrees. If you are interested in transferring, feel free to PM me for more information. I went through the process on my own with no guidance, and I know how overwhelming it can be. I'm happy to share everything I learned from applying

I feel your pain, that letter was harsh! Do you have a backup?

Thanks for letting me know, but I got a letter via postal service today saying I was rejected. Oh well. Congrats on your acceptance!

Still nothing from Penn state..rejecting via postal service seems brutal. Nothing in my mailbox so farbut mail is often delayed. Sigh.

Does anyone here have a Plan B? After getting a series of rejections I am seriously considering reapplying next year. I am a bit worried that the few acceptances I have are just not a great fit for me.

I think all of us did!

For those who applied to Penn State and haven't heard back- I called today and they said most of their acceptances are out but there are still a few applications that they have not made decisions on...so let's all hope for the best! Fingers crossed for all of us...hopefully we are still in the running.

Minnesota? Is that the Family Social Science program? I'm attending it too! PM me...we should make sure we recognize each other at the meet

I just saw that someone was accepted to Penn State in the results section. Was that someone here? Do you think all the acceptance letters go out at the same time, or do they go out as decisions are made? Penn State is my top choice!

I didn't, but I am an international student so it might be different for me. I definitely think it's a good sign. Did they ask you to give them more information?

Has anyone heard from anywhere else?

I got accepted to OSU! Just received an email...official letter is yet to come. I am so relieved. Good luck to others waiting! Hopefully you'll all get some good news tomorrow.

Do you think if OSU was going to reject us, they'd let us know by email? For the program I got rejected by, I didn't receive anything. They just updated my application status quite a while after they had sent out acceptance letters. No news better be good news!