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Aug '25 •
🎉 Welcome to Ask A DSO (Free)
Welcome to your new community — a space built for international students who want clear, reliable guidance on studying, working, and thriving in the U.S. I’m Dr. Josh Schoonover (most students just call me Dr. Josh), and over the last 9+ years I’ve helped: - ✅ 4,000+ students secure visas - ✅ 3,000+ OPT/STEM OPT approvals - ✅ 1,600 H-1B approvals - ✅ 400+ green cards Now I’ve built Ask A DSO (Free) so you don’t have to scroll Reddit, Facebook, or random chats wondering if the advice is correct. Here, you get clarity, connection, and community. 🌟 How It Works - Modules: Check the classroom for guidance on visas, career prep, student life, and your American Dream. - Community Threads: Every week you’ll see prompts to share wins, challenges, and questions. - Monthly Live Training + Q&A: Join me live each month for rotating topics (CPT/OPT basics, avoiding status violations, networking, and more). - Replay Notes: If you miss a session, you’ll still get text-based recaps. ❌ What CORE Isn’t CORE is your foundation. It’s not full advising, video tutorials, or 1:1 support — those live inside PRO & VIP. Think of this as your launchpad. 🚀 Start Here 1. Introduce yourself below — share your school, major, home country, and one goal you have for your U.S. journey. 2. Engage in the weekly thread — answer the question of the week and learn from other students. 3. Explore the modules — start with Visa Status Basics to build your foundation. 💡 Pro Tip The more you engage, the more you’ll get out of Ask A DSO (Free). Ask questions, share wins, encourage others. This is a global community of students chasing their American Dream... And you’re part of it now. Welcome aboard. Let’s build your future together. — Dr. Josh
5d •
Group Closing 3/20
Hi All, As I've been saying, this group is closing and I'll be moving forward with my core group, which is still free to join. You can join here: https://www.skool.com/ask-a-dso I've officially canceled my subscription for this community, and access will end on March 20th. See you in the other group, where I've been adding a lot more features and a ton of recent posts and updates :) -Dr. Josh
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18d •
Happy Lunar New Year! 🔥🐴
🧧 Happy Lunar New Year🧧 To everyone celebrating, whether you’re with family, with friends, or celebrating quietly between classes and assignments… I’m thinking of you today. The Lunar New Year is about renewal. Fresh starts. Intentional direction. Building something stronger than last year. And that’s exactly what we’re doing here. This year inside our community, we’re not just reacting to policy changes. We’re getting ahead of them. Here’s a small preview of what’s coming: 🔥 OPT Sprint – A focused, high-energy push to help you sharpen your professional presence and positioning before internship and OPT hiring cycles heat up. 📜 Duration of Status (D/S) Updates – If and when rule changes are announced, you won’t be guessing. You’ll get calm, clear breakdowns of what it means, what it doesn’t mean, and what (if anything) you need to do. 🎯 More structured Roadmaps – Clearer pathways from Arrive → Thrive → Launch → Stay. 📈 Career strategy sessions tied directly to visa strategy - because your degree and your status are connected. And much more. This year isn’t about fear. It’s about positioining. It’s about clarity. It’s about moving with intention instead of reacting with anxiety. But it’s not here- this group is closing soon. To stay with me, join my core community here: https://www.skool.com/ask-a-dso/about May this new year bring you resilience, opportunity, and steady progress toward the life you’re building in the U.S. We’re just getting started. 🧧✨
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Jan 14 •
Trump Visa Announcment
Hello everyone, You may have seen news today about an announcement from the Trump Administration regarding a pause in visa issuance for 75 countries. I want to take a moment to clarify what this means for our community. The announcement does not apply to nonimmigrant visa categories, including F-1 and J-1 visas. In other words, international students and exchange visitors are not impacted by this guidance, and student mobility and enrollment-related processes may continue as normal. [Quick housekeeping note: This group will be closing at the end of January. To make sure you continue receiving updates like this—and don’t miss any important guidance—my permanent Ask A DSO community is available (and still free) here: 👉 https://www.skool.com/ask-a-dso] I know headlines like this can be unsettling, especially given how much uncertainty many of you have navigated in recent years. That’s completely understandable. For now, though, the guidance is clear and there is no change to your current status or plans based on this announcement. As always, I’m keeping a close eye on developments. If anything changes, or if there’s new guidance you should be aware of, I’ll share it in my permanent group promptly, so be sure to join for free. Always on Your Side, Dr. Josh
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Jan 2 •
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, everyone 🎉 2025 asked a lot of all of us.Rapid policy shifts. Uncertainty. Waiting. Adjusting. Re-planning. If this year taught us anything, it’s that the rules can change—but clarity, preparation, and community matter more than ever. We don’t know exactly what 2026 will bring. And that’s okay. What I do know is this: you’re not navigating it alone. This community exists so you don’t have to guess, panic, or carry the weight by yourself. We’ll keep tracking changes, breaking things down, and helping each other make smart, informed decisions—step by step. Quick reminder: this free group will be sunset soon. To keep getting updates, support, and answers in one place, please move over to the new combined Ask A DSO community (still free to join) before this group closes. Join here: https://www.skool.com/ask-a-dso Thank you for being here, and here's to moving forward together in 2026 and beyond! Dr. Josh
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