"Eligibility to work in the US without sponsorship "

Discussion in 'Online & DL Teaching' started by DoeJohn, Sep 18, 2012.

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  1. DoeJohn

    DoeJohn New Member

    I am not a US citizen. I see that some on-line positions states the following, or similar:

    "Eligibility to work in the US without sponsorship ".

    Do I, as a foreigner not living in the US, have to fill out certain forms in order to be allowed to perform pure on-line work/teaching for a US company/school?

    If so, where can I obtain information about which forms to fill out?

    Thanks
     
  2. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    i am afraid that you will be having a very hard time getting a visa for few reasons:
    -These are part time positions for short period contracts, visas are not meant for part time and periods of two months (typical online course).
    -You are not living in the US
    -Given the high unemployment in the US, you are not going to have an easy time convincing authorities that a foreigner is required to take a part time job while living in your home country.
    -A visa normally requires you to get the offer first before you can apply, as they are not willing to hire you without the visa then it becomes technically impossible to get i.


    In few words, the reason they put this is because it is technically impossible for a foreigner to get a visa overseas just to teach an online course. It is a polite and legal way to say "Americans only please".


    I worked for few American schools while living in Canada but it seems that now the "Americans only" is becoming a norm given the high unemployment in the US, this is quite normal as the country needs to take of their own first.
     
  3. graymatter

    graymatter Member

    Not "Americans-only" - they just don't want to fill out the H/R forms to "sponsor" visiting faculty. I am a Canadian citizen (in the US for the last 19 years) and I just provide them a copy of my Green Card.
     
  4. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    By Americans I mean either permanent residents or citizens, it is not likely to get a work permit as an online adjunct as you are not technically working in the US but working in your home country for an American school.

    I went through this process a while ago, I worked as a full time online faculty for an American school but I was required to get an American address and get a TN visa for this. The problem is that the visa is given for the same length as the contract that is not a problem if it is a year contract but online adjuncts get contracts for two months only. Also, the offer has to be given before you can apply for the visa so the OP would need to convince the school to grant an offer that are not willing to do unless you are already eligible to work in the US.
     
  5. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    I concur. To teach online, you would need the same type of work visa as full-time, and no school would bother sponsoring an online adjunct. Maybe TN, but I believe most would not even be knowledgeable enough to know what these are. I missed out on two full-time B&M offers at public colleges because I needed GC sponsorship.
     
  6. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    My guess is that perhaps employers dont really need the visa but they use this requirement to eliminate 95% of the applicants. I am sure with so many people around the world completing degrees from NCU, Walden, TUI, etc, there are plenty willing to work as online adjuncts so schools just eliminate them to reduce the pool of available candidates to chose from.
    Also, many schools might feel that students might not like the idea that most of their teachers are working from India or China. A PhD student might feel hopeless if they see that most faculty positions are going overseas anyways.

    I worked during many years as online adjunct for American schools without a working permit but noticed that most new online jobs now require a visa.

    To our friend, you are better off looking for work in your local school. The years of the American dream seem to be over.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 10, 2012

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