dhanson
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Posts posted by dhanson
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Yikes. I think that you should have followed up on this before declining the offer. I don't think they have a legal obligation to reimburse your expenses and now that you have declined they probably won't.
In their invitation they never stated "If you decide not to come here we will not reimburse expenses". In fact, they made it clear that the reason they wanted me to visit was to make sure I would like it if I decided to come.......I would never take legal recourse anyways (not worth a lawyer and I live in a different state so small claims court wouldn't work), I was hoping for a more peaceful solution.....:-)
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I'm not sure if people are still reading these forums now that the season is over, but I'm in a very difficult situation and any advice would be helpful.
In November, I was asked by a POI to come visit his lab, and that he would reimburse some of the costs of the flight. I went, and on my last day there, his secretary gave me forms to fill out to get $350 (a lot of money for me!!) reimbursed (the flight had cost $500). When I got home, I filled out the forms, sent them to her, and got a reply that everything looked good and that my check should arrive in December or January. Several weeks later, I declined their offer. 4 months later, I am still waiting for my check, and the secretary responded curtly to my email inquiry with "Your reimbursement is under review". After that, she has not responded to any of my emails (politely) asking for more information.
What should I do??
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Interesting to hear about the visa switch. Was that tough?
the biggest pain is that you have to leave the country then re-enter on your new visa, which wasn't difficult for me because I was going back to Canada for a visit anyways. There may be other ways to switch (maybe going to a consulate), but I'm not sure. As for getting the paperwork for the new visa, I just asked my school and they gave it to me.......
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Hi dhanson,
It’s good to hear that I am not the only one who does the taxes for the husband too:-)
after he did them wrong the first year (we were actually entitled to a larger return, which luckily the irs let us know), I took over:-)
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I don't quite get how I can be on a TN visa either - several of the universities I was applying to had suggested it, and said that there was fundamentally no difference between the J1 and TN (other than less paperwork with the TN). Of course, being told it was easier to get, I went with a TN. Upon starting the job and filling out the paperwork however, I came to realize that from what I can interpret (which doesn't actually go that far), when you're on a J1, you're considered a non-resident of the US by default for tax purposes. However with TN, how I understand it is that I am considered a resident of the US for tax purposes. Although, apparently, from what I've been able to figure out, I should be able to fill out some sort of document at the end of this all (sounds maybe like the same thing you're referring to) to justify that although I met the substantial presence test in the US, I have more ties in Canada. How difficult was it to justify your Canadian ties? At what point did you request to establish your residency status in Canada? Lol... with a PDF, it looks like probably >80% of my income this year will be Canadian! Out of curiosity, when you filed your taxes, were you able to use up your tuition credits? Also out of curiosity, when you "justify" your ties to Canada, are you justifying it to a particular province (I would assume so, but that's just a guess)? I literally just moved (and I had a year long health insurance thing I had signed up for back in Canada - since I'm not sure if I'm a resident or not, I don't know if should cancel that [or even it is still valid]). Anyway... for any other post-docs out there looking to go to a US university, if given the option between J1 vs. TN... yeah the TN might be less paperwork up front, but I suspect (once again cannot be sure) that down the road it might be a little more challenging than the J1.
p.s. What's the difference between "factual" vs. "deemed" resident of Canada? Are there any other types of residents?
p.p.s. For anyone still wanting to go in under TN... be sure to have your original degree certificate with you as you cross the border (at least if you want to make life easier). Since I don't convocate for another couple months, they were big sticklers about this (transcript & letter from the U saying I finished all degree requirements weren't enough). While it sounds crazy, proof of my BSc is what got me in. I don't get it... but just a head's up for anyone that tries!!
It may be possible for you to switch visas......I changed from a J-2 to an F-1 (as a graduate student) because there were more benefits to being an F-1.
My husband is a J-1 post-doc and I do his taxes.......I know that as a J-1, you get two years in the US as a "tax non-resident", then after that you are a tax resident (unless you fail the substantial presence test). And every case might be different, but I don't think his taxes were higher than if he was a tax resident (as opposed to what simhod experienced).
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Shucks... if you didn't get it in Boston yet... it'll be another week before it makes it to the west coast US!
I'm in California and got my letter in the mail today (awarded PGS-D3)
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No letter in the US (California) today---hopefully tomorrow or Monday............
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Thanks! So it seems everyone has a 50% chance of success (or rejection)... fun stuff
yes around 50% in each commitee !
hundred of peoples apply to a univerity then only a certain number are forwarded to NSERC and from those, 50% get it.
It is very difficult to get NSERC this days.....
So even if you won only the PGS-M or PGS-D, it is a big honor !
Except for those of us who applied directly to NSERC--there is no university filter so we have no idea if we are any good!
We also MUST wait for our letters (mine will not arrive until probably late next week since I am in the US) because there is no university department secretary who we can call and ask! Unfair:-)
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Any news about banting ???
Banting results are on ResearchNet
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From the "Budget in Brief" from budget.gc.ca:
"Economic Action Plan 2012 will:
Increase funding for research and development by small and medium-
sized companies.
Promote linkages and collaborations, including funding internships and
connecting private sector innovators to procurement opportunities in
the federal government.
Refocus the National Research Council on research that helps Canadian
businesses develop innovative products and services.
Enhance access to venture capital financing by high-growth companies
so that they have the capital they need to create jobs and grow.
Streamline and improve the Scientific Research and Experimental
Development tax incentive program, including shifting from indirect
tax incentives to more direct support for innovative private
sector businesses.
Support research, education and training with new funding for
universities, granting councils and leading research institutions,
such as Genome Canada. "
Points 1-5 seem to be bad for us (non-industry)......point 6 isn't clear how it will affect grants to graduate students.....
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Since the deadline for applications is October 15th, and the notification of decision is 23 weeks from that deadline (on NSERC website), that would put notification at March 24th (a Saturday, so next business day is Monday the 26th).
These are dates for people applying directly to NSERC, but I'm sure it works out the same for people applying to schools directly........
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I got my letter in the mail on Friday, postmarked on March 6th.
Was it a rejection or acceptance? I'm wondering if they only sent out acceptances because I still haven't received anything.........
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Letters of acceptance or all letters (even rejections)?
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I emailed my POI and he told me that it was unlikely I will be accepted, but he said the admissions committee has not made any final decisions yet.
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Got an invitation to Harvard OEB "recruitment weekend." yay!
Congrats! Do you mind me asking how you were notified? And what exactly is the recruitment weekend?
School refusing to reimburse visit costs--help??
in Interviews and Visits
Posted · Edited by dhanson
I declined their offer in mid-December, and the first time I wrote the gradsec was in mid-February. It was her reply to that first email that was terse............when she had previously written me (to let me know that my reimbursement forms had been received), her tone was much friendlier and helpful, and she let me know the exact date when she hoped to have the check in hand, even apologizing for the possibility that the holidays might mean that the check might come a few days later. This "friendlier" email was before I declined.
Thanks for the link to that thread.....it is good to know at least that someone has had a similar experience. But it seems most people on that thread eventually got their checks within 2 months.........I'm now going on 4........