U.S. visa options for Pinoy teachers

During the eighties and nineties, in the East Coast, it was an anomaly to hear kababayans from the Philippines arriving in the US to work as teachers.

Back then, more prevalent were stories of Pinoy nurses and therapists arriving in droves like bundled imported fowls to satisfy the scandalous hunger for healthcare workers in various hospitals and nursing homes around the country.

After the nineties, however, and largely due to the Philippines' English-based medium of instruction, Uncle Sam began to embark on the bulk recruitment of Filipino teachers — in addition to importing nurses — to address the growing shortage of professional educators in the country.

At present, there are certain areas in the US in which Filipino teachers outnumber Pinoy nurses, a unique circumstance unheard of just a few decades ago.

However, with the ongoing shortage of teaching professionals in the country — especially in the inner US cities — it is not far-fetched to assume that the wholesale importation of Filipino teachers will continue.

What US visa options are available to Pinoy teachers? While there are a number of options available, the most common are the H-1B working visa and the J-1 exchange visitor's visa.

An H-1B visa is a type of nonimmigrant US visa reserved for specialty occupations — those types of jobs that customarily require a bachelor's degree or higher, which includes teachers.

To file an H-1B teacher's petition, a US-based employer must be a sponsor, usually a private educational institution or a state public school system.

If approved, an H-1B visa can be valid for up to three years, which can be renewed for another three years. It can lead to a green card if the petitioning employer (or another entity) agrees to sponsor the H-1B teacher for permanent resident status.

On the other hand, a J-1 exchange visitor's visa allows people from different countries to come to the US to expand their knowledge and skills while being exposed to the cultural ways of the country.

For foreign educators, a special J-1 visa program called the Teacher Exchange Program is in place.

Through this process, foreign teachers can come to the US to teach while at the same time enhancing their mentoring skills by learning from American teaching methods and experiencing the cultural diversity of the country.

Similar to the H-1B visa, a J-1 visa can be valid for up to three years, which can be extended under certain circumstances (including a waiver of the two-year foreign residency requirement, if applicable).

Among potential J-1 visa sponsors are educational institutions, cultural exchange organizations, and government agencies. A path to a green card is also available as long as a qualified sponsor offers permanent employment.

Apart from the H-1B and J-1 visas, there is another less prevalent option, which nonetheless provides a direct route to a green card.

Through this process, a US-based academic institution or training facility undertakes to sponsor a foreign teacher or instructor for an immigrant visa by filing a labor certification application and immigrant petition in lieu of an H-1B or J-1 visa petition.

While the process is more complicated and entails a relatively longer timeline (a minimum of three years under the current visa processing backlogs), the upside is that the foreign teacher or instructor will arrive in the US as a permanent resident, not a nonimmigrant worker.

Whichever option is best for a kababayan teacher will depend on the individual circumstances of each case.

A common recipe for success, however, apart from having an advanced degree and the funds required to finance part of the process, is the candidate's persistence in looking for a reputable sponsor.