Diversity Visa Interview and a job in the USA

[sonce]

Hi all

I applied for the 2012 DV. I’m from Slovenia and I don’t know what my chances are but I’d say they are almost non-existing. Still I don’t want to leave anything to a coincidence. I’ll defend my PhD dissertation in April or early May and I plan to start looking for a job in the USA in February. A professor at one of the Universities will help me with finding a job there since he can not currently finance my work on his own projects and I apply to other available positions also. Can not having a job in the USA negatively influence the outcome of the interview and how much would one have to have on the bank account to overcome not having a job position there? What was/ is your situation on this and what was the outcome?

Thanks,
sonce

 

[samuel5028]

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[sonibago]

sonce,
Once you've acquired the basic requirements to be eligible for the DV visa then you should have no problem. Having a PhD will surely work in your favor with respect to your employment potential. Do not worry, most winners do not have jobs in the US when they face the interview. I'm not sure about the amount of funds needed to show at the interview but links to poverty guidelines have been posted in other threads.

 

[sonce]

Thanks.

 

[dalmatian]

Hi Sonce

I defended my PhD in 2009 and will be moving to the US in April 2011. Having a copy of your PhD diploma will surely be of help at the interview. My wife and I experienced a difficult interview in London in August 2010, but once I showed my diploma and a letter from my current employer (an European university) everything changed. The officer seemed to think that as a PhD I have a good chance to get a job in the US. However, because the letter explained that I have a work contract in my native country until the end of 2012, she became worried if I can move to the US in 2011. I told her that there is no problem to end the contract before 2012. She was satisfied with that information and we got DVs in our passports.

I recently received one-year paid-direct postdoc position in an American university. The position is basically a visiting position funded by my current employer in Europe (the funding comes from my professor's project), so my move to the US will be easy. It allows me to get more acquainted with the US university system and look for a permanent job. I think that this is a good way to enter to the country, so you should ask your professor if there are any possibilities for such funding. Sending you to the US as a postdoc in a top US university would be a good investment for your department in Slovenia, as it is a way to create relationships with professors in top universities in the US.

If you wish to continue your academic career in the US, you should know that (at least in my discipline) timing is important. There will be loads of job postings from late May to early October. If you are lucky, you could have a couple of interviews sometime between July and January. The application process will take time, so start date will typically be next year, usually in early August or September. This is the schedule for most tenure track jobs in my discipline, and there are very few jobs starting mid-year. You should check job postings and the typical application schedule for your discipline. Please note that you can apply before the dissertation defense, but usually PhD is required at the time of appointment.

You should check other threads for the required savings/money issue. My wife and I had quite a good amount of money in savings and stocks, but I also have a housing mortgage twice the amount of savings. Because of the mortgage the total balance is negative. I was worried about it before the interview, but the officer was interested only about the balance of our bank accounts. In other words, how much cash we have to live in the US.

 

[bentlebee]

Hi Sonce

I defended my PhD in 2009 and will be moving to the US in April 2011. Having a copy of your PhD diploma will surely be of help at the interview. My wife and I experienced a difficult interview in London in August 2010, but once I showed my diploma and a letter from my current employer (an European university) everything changed. The officer seemed to think that as a PhD I have a good chance to get a job in the US. However, because the letter explained that I have a work contract in my native country until the end of 2012, she became worried if I can move to the US in 2011. I told her that there is no problem to end the contract before 2012. She was satisfied with that information and we got DVs in our passports.

I recently received one-year paid-direct postdoc position in an American university. The position is basically a visiting position funded by my current employer in Europe (the funding comes from my professor's project), so my move to the US will be easy. It allows me to get more acquainted with the US university system and look for a permanent job. I think that this is a good way to enter to the country, so you should ask your professor if there are any possibilities for such funding. Sending you to the US as a postdoc in a top US university would be a good investment for your department in Slovenia, as it is a way to create relationships with professors in top universities in the US.

If you wish to continue your academic career in the US, you should know that (at least in my discipline) timing is important. There will be loads of job postings from late May to early October. If you are lucky, you could have a couple of interviews sometime between July and January. The application process will take time, so start date will typically be next year, usually in early August or September. This is the schedule for most tenure track jobs in my discipline, and there are very few jobs starting mid-year. You should check job postings and the typical application schedule for your discipline. Please note that you can apply before the dissertation defense, but usually PhD is required at the time of appointment.

You should check other threads for the required savings/money issue. My wife and I had quite a good amount of money in savings and stocks, but I also have a housing mortgage twice the amount of savings. Because of the mortgage the total balance is negative. I was worried about it before the interview, but the officer was interested only about the balance of our bank accounts. In other words, how much cash we have to live in the US.

They are not interested in homes with a mortgage. Only cash in the bank or called savings. Even if you have no mortgage on your home which is great (like we have...isn't helping you much right now since they know it can take a long time before you will be able to sell and get cash out of it.

A house won't pay your bills for groceries, rent/living, a car, clothes, etc...so they are looking for money that you have free to spend for the next couple of month's after arriving.

 

[sonce]

Hi dalmatian , bentlebee

I have a 'bit' of an elitist selfish mentor who won’t recommend me to anyone freely if he doesn't profit from it. But I was lucky to meet one of USA professors and his assistant who are convinced that I’m not a complete idiot, as my current mentor always gives me an impression to be, and both of them are willing to recommend me as a researcher to other professors from my research field at the University where they teach. Since I'm in biomedicine I'll also try to make this work for me. But still, a contract in the USA will be beneficial from the financial viewpoint. My former job was not paid well enough to enable me much savings and right now I’m living on it since I didn’t find a new job jet. It is difficult to find a job in my home state because there are not many positions opening, I’m overeducated for the open positions and there are many people like me who already have the PhD for the positions that are suitable.
I’m sending my cv to the mentioned professor and I’ll start applying to other open positions and I hope something comes out of it. In the meantime I’ll try to work as a translator. It’s an o.k. job and it enables me to practice and improve English language skills.


Take care,
sonce