Yes, there are teachers from other countries working in
Alaska for school districts. What follows here is just what
we've gathered from publicly available links regarding
working as a teacher in the United States, and from talking
to candidates about their own process experiences in looking
for jobs in Alaska from overseas.
We are not experts about immigration matters, visas or work
regulations. All job offers are between individual school
districts and the teachers themselves, but we provide this
page as a resource for overseas teachers exploring work in
Alaska.
Also, please note that while we do wish all candidates luck
in their job search, ATP does not endorse, or have an
official relationship with any employment agency or sponsor
recruiting or placing teachers from other countries.
NOTE: The US Department of State temporarily paused J-1 Visa programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The White House issued two executive orders ( EO 10014 & EO 10052) which temporarily stopped J-1 visa teachers who were not already in the United States from coming. One has been rescinded by the Biden administration. The other is supposed to expire at the end of March. We are not experts on visas or immigration matters here at ATP, so for ongoing updates, please monitor the US State J-1 Teacher Program page, and/or check with your sponsoring organization. This is the current (March 30, 2021) information on their page:
On February 24, President Biden rescinded Presidential Proclamation (P.P.) 10014 that suspended entry of immigrants who present a risk to the United States labor market during the economic recovery following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak. For further information, please visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/rescission-of-presidential-proclamation-10014.html. P.P. 10052 remains in effect and is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2021. P.P. 10052 suspends the entry to the United States of certain nonimmigrant visa applicants who present a risk to the U.S. labor market during the economic recovery following the novel coronavirus outbreak. It applies to J-1 visa applicants participating in the intern, trainee, teacher, camp counselor, au pair, or summer work travel programs; and any spouses or children of covered applicants applying for J-2 visas. For further information, please visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/extension-of-presidential-proclamation-10052.html.
Question: I am a foreign teacher. Can I teach in Alaska?
The short answer is "Yes", but it also depends on your
specific qualifications and experience, your patience and
skill with rules and paperwork, and your ability to find a
school district that needs your skills.
There are three main hurdles we address here:
In the United States, each state - our political units
which are like provinces - set teacher certification /
licensure rules. You will need to be certified in Alaska in
order to work here. All states have their own, slightly
different certification criteria, and a process through
their own Department of Education, so this is not just in
Alaska.
No matter what else you read here, or on the ATP forum or
Reddit or an agency's website, your specific questions
relating to getting your license to teach in Alaska should
be directed to the very helpful staff at the Teacher Certification Office at the
Alaska Department of Education in Juneau. The Teacher
Certification Office is the official source of all
certification information, and they have a small staff who
will decide your status.
Alaska Department of Education - Teacher Certification Office - Juneau
https://education.alaska.gov/teachercertification
Initial Teacher Certification Types - Teachers new to Alaska, even if experienced in other places, have to get an Initial Certificate when they move to Alaska.
https://education.alaska.gov/teachercertification/certification/initial
Cost of Alaska Teaching Certification - From the Alaska Teacher Certification Office website:
Alaska Department of Education - FAQ Page for Foreign Teachers
https://education.alaska.gov/FAQ/
Alaska Department of Education - All FAQs
https://education.alaska.gov/FAQ/TeacherCertification/All#q30
Remember the certification information on the our website
here at ATP is not the official information,
but is just intended to get you started. Here is our general
information on this topic, which may change year-to-year:
It is important to note that your Alaska Teacher
Certification application has to be sent in a single packet
or envelope. That means the completed application
forms, all of your supporting documents, and your
fingerprint card (see below) have to be in the same envelope
with payment for the fee. The documents must also be
notarized prior to sending, and Alaska EED provides this
information about that (
Word
document).
One of the challenges that sometimes causes problems for
overseas teachers who do get their Initial certification is
completing the required Basic
Competency
Testing in Alaska after they are hired. This is needed
for extending their Initial, short-term teaching
certificates after they arrive and start working. The
struggle with testing is partially because it can be
difficult in rural / remote areas to arrange and take a
test. It is also a challenge for some because the testing
format is in not just in English, but American-style
English, and so expects the overseas teacher to know certain
terms, vocabulary and general knowledge items he or she may
not have been exposed to in studying it as a second
language.
Also, as part of the process of certification, the Alaska
Teacher Certification Office - and every other state - will
require foreign teachers to have their college transcripts
verified and evaluated. The Alaska Department of Education
information for credential review, including a list of
agencies who can do the evaluation for a fee, can be found
here:
Alaska Department of Education - Teacher Certification - Foreign Teacher Information
https://education.alaska.gov/teachercertification/outside-programs
All teachers who apply for certification in Alaska must
undergo a background check, including getting fingerprinted
on a very specific Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
form called the FD-528.
Alaska Teacher Certification Background Check Info
https://education.alaska.gov/teachercertification/fingerprints
FBI Fingerprint Form (FD-528)
https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/standard-fingerprint-form-fd-258-1.pdf/view
FD-528 Form (PDF download link)
However, in order to actually get your Alaska Teaching
Certification approved to teach in Alaska, you will need a
US Social Security Number. This is a very complicated
process, but is doable if you are a J-1 Visa
applicant. See the "Visa Information" section of this page
for details about this type of visa.
If you are overseas, but not applying for a J-1 Visa, it
will be difficult - perhaps even impossible? - for you
to apply for a Social Security Number before arrival.
This is a bit of a "Catch 22" in that the background check
needs to be completed before you can teach students, but the
process takes several weeks or more. If you can't apply for
before you arrive, you may not be able to be paid as a
teacher by your employer until you get the fingerprint cards
and certificate squared away.
The rule used to be that if you were outside the United
States, and therefore unable to apply for a Social Security
Number, overseas teachers could only be temporarily
certified until they arrive and can apply. It is not clear
from the Alaska Department of Education website if this is
still the case, but the Alaska Teacher Certification Office
does provide this link for information about getting a
Social Security number:
Social Security Administration
http://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber/
Social Security Number / Cards for Noncitizens
https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10096.pdf
This form has lots of information, but at the bottom of the first page,
this part clarifies that J-1 Visa teachers can apply for Social Security numbers.
Federal Benefits Units - Overseas Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) offices provide services for the USA's Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Personnel Management, Railroad Retirement Board, Medicare, and Department of Labor. This page is from the official Social Security website and lists the FBUs by country around the world:
https://www.ssa.gov/foreign/foreign.htm
FBU Example (Philppines)
https://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/social-security/
Social Security Info for Overseas Residents - This overview is from another organization, not the actual Social Security offices, but it might be helpful to some (verify with official sources):
https://www.americansabroad.org/guidance-for-obtaining-your-social-security-number-from-overseas/
There are two main types of visas used by school districts
in the United States to hire teacher for shortage areas:
H-1B & J-1 visas. Either can work, but in Alaska,
their use is still fairly limited.
J-1 Visas - Exchange Visitor Program
The most commonly used process currently for foreign
teachers in Alaska is now the J-1 Visa Program, which is one
of the Exchange Visitor Programs managed by the US
Department of State. Teachers hired under the J-1 program
can work in the US for three years, and then extend for
another two years if they can get an exemption or "No
Objection" letter from their home country. After their first
3 years, teachers are eligible to repeat the program
provided that they live outside the United States for two
years, and still continue to meet the eligibility
requirements.
The three parts to the puzzle are:
There are probably less than ten school districts using we
know of currently using J-1 visa teachers in Alaska, but we
don't currently have a list, as it varies each year
depending on district needs and the HR staff's interests.
J-1 visas do seem much better for districts, as candidates
have actually been able to navigate the visa and
certification processes, and arrive in time for August start
dates after being hired in the spring. There are some
challenges reported, of course, including the ability for
some applicants to pass the required Basic
Competency
Exam requirements.
US Department of State - J-1 Visa Program
https://j1visa.state.gov/programs/teacher
Here are the basic requirements of the J-1 visa
program. Applicants must:
How Do Teachers Find a Sponsor?
There are private companies that specialize in assisting
teacher in locating jobs and securing J-1 visas, but we
don't officially recommend any particular firm or
"sponsor". Teachers should be very clear in
understanding all fees and costs associated with the Sponsor
they are working working with, as some agencies operating in
others states have reportedly taken advantage of
participants by charging very high fees, or a percentages of
earnings in advance.
US Department of State Sponsor List
The Department of State authorizes sponsors by program, and
country. Some sponsors are authorized to place teachers
throughout the United States, not just in the state they are
located in. Here is where you can find a list
of
the
approved
sponsors from the State website by selecting the pull
down menu item for the "Teacher" program, and then selecting
the country.
State Department Approved J-1 Visa Sponsors
https://j1visa.state.gov/sponsors/sponsor-by-country/?program=all
H-1B Visas
The most common visa for teachers from other countries
working in the United States used to be the H-1B visa,
intended for specialized occupations. The H-1B allows
teachers to hired to work for six years, but can also be a
stepping stone to a "green card", or permanent residency.
But, those visas were difficult to use because they were /
are subjected to a cap each year, and a random lottery
system, so districts often could not rely on a teacher they
wanted to hire actually getting one.
Several districts had bad experiences issuing a contract to
an applicant in the spring, only to find out too late that
he or she could not travel to Alaska to take the job because
a visa was not possible. This left many Alaska
districts with a negative view of working with overseas
teachers.
However, changes in the 2017 made it possible for school
districts to partner
with
university
programs
to
get exempted from the cap / lottery problem.
Although the intent is primarily to help higher education
institutions, it seems that some school districts are able
to justify their exemptions for hires of K-12 teachers by
leveraging their local university "dual enrollment"
relationships. We are not sure if there are plans in Alaska
universities or school districts to use this process, but
this method has apparently been used in other states to hire
foreign national teachers. There are some potential
advantages to doing this, at least according to one
specialized law blog:
School districts and foreign national teachers both enjoy distinct advantages from the H-1B program. For example, utilization of the H-1B program allows districts to directly control the hiring process without coordinating with a visa sponsor organization, as required by the J-visa. H-1B visa holders also avoid a two (2) year home residency requirement that is often incorporated into the J-visa program. School districts can also transition H-1B teachers relatively easily to a green card, which provides a long-term immigration strategy.
You can read more about the H-1B options for school
districts here:
Question: Is there a list of school
districts in Alaska who hire foreign teachers?
We have not maintained an official list, some districts have reported having foreign teachers under J-1 visa programs, and teachers have also reported to us that they found positions with the following districts: