Do I need to go to my home country to apply for the J1 visa?

I have a postdoc offer which starts from January 1st week.I am at present a postdoc in a different country. I have couple of questions regarding my visa. It will be of great help if anyone can answer them.1. Do I need to go to my home country to apply for the J1 visa? (I have been in my present country from January of this year (10 months)).

  1. I am planning to leave my present postdoc by December 1st week, and schedule a visa date for the 3rd week of December. I will basically be unemployed during the interview. Is that ok?

  2. If I schedule a visa date when I am still a postdoc here, should I get a NOC from my present postdoc place?Thank you