Thread by @Disha_RC

Hi folks. I’m Disha. I’m a data reporter who investigated police use of force for 16 months.

I don’t usually publicly ask for help, but I need a job in the next 56 days or I won’t be eligible to work for 6-12 months.

Threading portfolio, jobs I can legally take, details. 1/n

My best work to date: force.nj.com, an award-winning database on police use of force in New Jersey, which, after publication, the attorney general purchased from us to use as a model for the state’s database. 2/n

I architected the database to make sure manually inputting over 70k records would yield usable results, just as I knocked on doors in towns with high rates of police use of force to do shoe leather reporting. Read the story: bit.ly/race-uof 3/n

As the race reporter, I found that while white ppl were more likely to threaten or attack police with a car, knife or gun, Black ppl were more than 3x as likely to face police force than white people. In one town, more than 22x more likely bit.ly/race-uof 4/n

If this is the kind of #datajournalism you want to do, hire me. I find all data interesting, but I know criminal justice data better than others. Other areas of interest: education, environment, labor. My portfolio: bit.ly/disha-rc 5/n

I'm also super committed to improving diversity in newsrooms, and helping fellow JOCs survive in this media landscape. I'm very proud of the work I've done in that area, most notably co-creating this resource guide: jocresources.com 6/n

Jobs I can legally take b/c of my visa: anything in the data and/or investigative journalism space, or certain adjacent roles that involve data-related work in some capacity.

*Most important:* Employers need to be willing to sponsor visas! 7/n

I would prefer a remote job, but I’m open to relocating anywhere in the northeast corridor, i.e., between Boston and DC. 8/n

If you are hiring and think my expertise could help your organization, please get in touch. I'm available at [e-mail].

It's a tough deadline to meet, but relying on my network is the best I can do at the moment. 9/n

Now onto the series of unfortunate events that led to this mess... 10/n

For the past 4 months,I was excited about joining my new data reporter gig. I applied for a work visa and waited it out while the #COVID19 pandemic suspended most immigration processes, including expedited processing of applications. I had no idea when I'd start my new job. 11/n

On June 15, my work visa got approved. June 16, I got on a call with my employer hoping to get a start date. I was instead told that they were rescinding the offer due to massive budget cuts. 12/n

I'm absolutely gutted but I cannot waste time processing this because I need to find another job that's willing to sponsor a visa AND file the petition in the next 56 days. I cannot file for unemployment because immigrants on visas don't qualify. 13/n

Because I also have a green card app in, I can't leave the country without forfeiting that app. So while I can legally stay within the US while that's pending, I won't be able to work unless I also have a separate work visa. 14/n

The immigration situation is hard to explain, but it boils down to two things:
Get another job + submit a visa app by Aug14
OR
Stay unemployed for the foreseeable future, till my GC gets processed. Anywhere between 6-12 months or more, anticipating COVID-related backlogs. 15/n

Again, if you're #hiringnow or know someone who is, please get in touch with me. I’m at [e-mail], or DM me on Twitter. Thank you! 16/n