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I moved to the US (New York) in May on a J-1 visa. My lab members and PI are toxic. So, I emailed my supervisor about my intention to resign. I resigned yesterday and had taken it back later, realizing that my J1 could be revoked. I had been in constant fear that she could fire me, sensing dirty politics and false accusations. Now, I spoke to her regarding a transfer, and my university also allows the same. At first, my supervisor agreed and later emailed me stating that she doesn't want me to continue working in her lab, and she needs a few more days to think. I think she is going to put false allegations on me so that she can fire me. My DS-2019 is valid until June 2026. Please suggest what is the smartest move that I can make? I have documented the harassment that this lab has been giving me, and I don't have an independent project to work on. Furthermore, she has been asking me to finish experiments that are going to be included in her student's PhD thesis.

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  • Hi, I have retracted my resignation from the postdoc position, but I suspect foul play. It has been nearly six months since I moved into this lab. They are making false accusations, and they secretly opened my lab record and checked it. My supervisor made me write about my novel project and document all my ideas but then all of a sudden stopped talking about it. Commented Oct 8 at 0:57
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    It's your boss. It is entirely reasonable to ask you to document what you have been doing. She's paying for the work, after all. Commented Oct 8 at 4:18
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    You need to talk to an immigration lawyer. Don't rely on random internet advice for legal matters. Commented Oct 8 at 4:32

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By reading the comment thread in Wolfgang Bangerth's answer, several things are evident.

First, you don't quite understand what a postdoc does or is expected to do in the US, and you don't understand how the structure around your salary works.

Funding for a postdoc is subject to significant overhead, so whatever salary you may be getting which is location dependent, you typically cost the PI $100,000-$140,000 per year out of their funding. This is a lot of money. So the notion that they would go through supporting immigration paperwork and placing a large amount of their funding towards your salary only to abuse and marginalize you for what I assume to be entertainment?? is unlikely.

Second, a postdoc in a PI-funded group situation is expected to take on multiple roles, including an often intermediary position between graduate students and the PI. This means supporting research for the graduate students so the PI does not have to spend time on that. That is why you are being paid. Please understand, this is not for you to bask in your own brilliance and delicate genius, this is also a paid job, and part of a role of a postdoc is to support those below them. Same way a grad student is often assigned undergraduates.

It is not only well within your PIs rights to ask you to document your work, it is actually your duty to do so. You are being paid to do this.

If you pulled this with me, I would terminate your contract as well. Not out of malice, but simply because you are not doing what I expect a postdoc to do. Lab-based research is a team effort - for everyone, the PI included. If you cannot function as part of a team, then perhaps you need to seek independent funding, or find a different line of work that is more independent and does not rely on funding from a specific PI.

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  • FYI, I have helped the lab troubleshoot their experiments. Second, I never denied helping grads/undergrads. I always followed my PI's advice and am respectful to her. I have many colleagues who are doing a postdoc in the USA. I have even consulted other postdocs in the institute who also agreed that I shouldn't invest 100% of my time helping a PhD. Commented Oct 9 at 1:26
  • So, you mean lab members can open my drawer and access my lab records in my absence, throw my flower pots, use abusive language ... seriously? I think you support that kind of lab environment. I have asked a question about the lab transfer. Be realistic; you are not my supervisor, and you can't write a nuisance. Also, I would never choose a PI like you who would treat a postdoc as their servant. I have seen people doing postdoc and getting first-author papers alongside helping team members. Commented Oct 9 at 1:29
  • I have never seen a postdoctoral researcher devote two years of his career to repeating a simple experiment that would not even earn him a first-author paper. That is harassment. And also, you mean we are getting paid for doing nothing in the lab… Relationships are mutual. People learn and grow together. That's how science progresses. Commented Oct 9 at 1:37
  • I am going through stress, and I think I am not able to ask a question clearly which is: Commented Oct 9 at 1:39
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    Actual abuse is different from work expectations. You can certainly find another advisor who better aligns with what you want, but do understand you are an employee of their group. Having you repeat certain experiments is not harassment, it may be many other things (like a waste of resources) but as long as you take money for it, you are also complicit in the situation. So yes, absolutely, do seek a change, but also understand what the relationship is. The advisor is not your sponsor, they are your employer, and how supportive they are for your growth is unfortunately not set in contract. Commented Oct 9 at 13:56
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The visa is tied to the university (=your employer), not an individual lab. In other words, as long as you continue to work for the university, there is nothing for you to worry about. Of course, if you resign from your position at the university, or if you lose your position, that is a different matter.

Separately, though: your university will have an International Office (perhaps under a different name). Go talk to them about your options.

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    Separately, I wonder how much your perception matches reality. In your post, you claim "dirty politics and false accusations", and now you say that "it seems that they are delaying deliberately". My experience is that when someone say that everyone seems to be out to get them, that is as often a "you problem" as it is a "them problem". Commented Oct 8 at 1:16
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    @Softwareguy Of course the associate director of postdoc affairs cannot guarantee you a transfer, there has to be some lab for you to go to, which depends on finding a lab head who 1) wants you and 2) has money to pay you. They aren't going to force some professor to do this, that would be toxic. Have you talked to any other professors? Commented Oct 8 at 2:09
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    "But, later this evening, she said that the earliest she could meet the dean would be next week, and she doesn't guarantee transfer." Both of these statements seem entirely reasonable to me. I fail to see anything nefarious in them, unlike when you claim "now it seems that they are delaying deliberately". Not being able to meet in one week is not unreasonable and not the same as "delaying deliberately". Commented Oct 8 at 4:16
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    @Softwareguy You can absolutely be asked to do that. You are being paid for work. You don't get to decide that some part of the work you've been doing should belong to you instead of the institution that pays your salary. This is not how this works. Commented Oct 8 at 5:44
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    No, that's not what I'm saying. You contributed to these ideas, and so you should of course be a co-author on all papers that describe these ideas. But that doesn't mean that you can work on it in secret without sharing the information with those who pay your salary. Commented Oct 8 at 19:17

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