About half the postdoctoral trainees in the United States--25,000 or so--come from foreign countries. All need visas for U.S. entry. Many obtain J-1 exchange visitor visas, which have a 3-year limit on the time the postdocs are allowed to stay in the U.S. before returning home for 2 years. But what if returning home is inconvenient or if the research cannot be pursued in the home country? What if...
Thousands of postdoctoral trainees from foreign countries need to continue their research in the United States after their J-1, or "2-year foreign-scholar," visas expire. To do that, they frequently must obtain the H-1B nonimmigrant work visa from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). This visa, which has a lifespan of 6 years, is usually easy to obtain, especially if the trainee...
Postdoctoral research is the probably the most complex, stimulating, and harrowing phase of a scientist's career. Many aspects of that on-the-average 5-year period must come together for the experience to be effective and satisfying. Concerns such as professional status, job prospects, income, health insurance, and the quality of the advisor too often divert the postdoc's energies away from pure ...
