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New E2 Visa Regulations |
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***NEW E2 VISA REGULATIONS AS OF DECEMBER 2007***
At the end of December in 2007 new E2 visa regulations went into effect and now the visa process is more complicated and there are more documents needed in order to process the visa, which has added about two and a half weeks onto the visa process. Before the new visa rules went into effect, to obtain an E2 visa there were two steps in the visa process...
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The first step was for me to overnight all of your visa documents to Korea ([1] school contract (signed), [2] passport photocopy, [3] original University diploma, & a notarized photocopy of the diploma with apostille notarization [this is to obtain your alien registration card after arriving in Korea [effective 09.01.10] [4] official sealed transcripts, [5] 3 passport photos, [6] visa application form (signed), and [7] have paid the visa processing fee.
One must now have [1]*criminal background check* (local county and state wide criminal background checks are NOT acceptable). [NOTE: as of 01.01.2011 all CBC's must be nationwide (Click here to find out how to apply for a) FBI check for US Citizens [can take up to 12 weeks] and (Click here to find out how to apply for a) RCMP check for Canadians. Updated on 07.20.10] State wide Apostille notarized CBC's will only be accepted until 09.01.2010. Every state only has one Apostille that can notarize your police background check.
For more information on Apostille go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostille. Korea, USA, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK are all signators of this agreement. NOTE: Canada did not sign this agreement, so they can not have a document notarized by an Apostille, so Canadian teachers will have to get their criminal background check from the RCMP, which takes 1-3 months to obtain, so apply as early as possible. USA residents need to order a CBC from the FBI which takes up to 12 weeks.
So, in other words, if a country signed this agreement then any document that has the signature of a state government official (including a notary) can be notarized by the state Appostille, then it must be recognized as a valid document in any country that has signed the agreement. After receiving your criminal background check you will have to send the document to your state Apostilles with a check ($10-$20 dollars) and a letter stating why you need the document notarized and to which country this document will be being used in. You will also need to request to have the document sent to me at my home office at (440 N. Wabash Ave. #1607, Chicago, IL 60611) and enclose a USPS envelope addressed to my home office address with a stamp ($16.25) for next day guaranteed delivery.
One must now also have [2] *a medical questionnaire* filled out and signed by the E2 visa applicant. I will send you this form after a job has been offered to you. This questionnaire is going to ask you if you are 1. an alcoholic or 2. a drug addict. You will need to fill out this yes or no questionnaire and sign it. Within a month after arriving in Korea you will then have to have a physical and a drug test. If you fail the drug test you will not be allowed to stay in Korea, but I've been told that most schools have a month to submit the physical/drug test to the immigration, so if one fails the test it is possible to wait a few weeks and retake the exam, but this is highly discouraged. If you are a habitual drug user and can not stop taking drugs two months before you go to Korea, then please do not waste my nor the schools time by continuing the hiring process.
One must now also have [3] an interview at a Korean Consulate after the first phase of the visa process, but before having the visa issued. We are still not sure if one can have a phone interview for people who do not live near a Consulate, but I will update this information soon.
If after reviewing all of your documents I am satisfied with your education and experience, then I will set up a phone interview. During the phone interview (about 30-60 minutes) I allocate about 5-10 minutes to asking you about your past experience, personality & etc, with half of the time allocated to Q&A (10-20 min) and the other 5-10 minutes I talk about the program and living in Korea. If I ask you to have a phone interview, please be sure to read the entire website again, especially about the hiring process and the Q&A section because it saves a lot of time explaining and leaves s more time for deeper conversation about Korea, teaching there and getting to know each other.
To start the application process please send me your application, resume, current picture (head-shot smiling) and if you have passed my interview I will then need scans of your passport (picture/signature page), diploma, police background check and official sealed transcripts (scan of the un-opened envelope with the signature across the seal) an example can be found on the website: (http://teachenglishinkorea.org/services.html). You can send all of the documents to me before the interview if you prefer.
The reason I ask for the scans of your passport, diploma and transcripts is because I need to verify that you do have them in hand and also to verify full name and birth-date for the airline ticket. I know that some people are very nervous to give this information, but to process the visa for you I will need the originals sent to me after you have been offered a job to be able to start the visa process. The visa process is spelled out in great detail on my website.
I have positions all over Korea and I work with private and public schools, but mostly I work with schools in Seoul, Ilsan, Bucheon, Bundang, Daegu, & Daejeon. I taught, placed teachers and lived in Bucheon (one of the three large satellite cities of Seoul also including Bundang and Ilsan). Bucheon, Ilsan and Bundang are new satellite cities of Seoul and they are only 20-45 minutes by subway to downtown Seoul ($1 subway ticket) and it's so cheap to get around and the cost of living is really low, and with free housing you'll be able to save a lot of money since you don't have to pay any rent.
After I have your resume, application and current photo (head-shot smiling), and if I am satisfied with your paperwork I'll set up a phone interview to discuss the position and it will be a chance for you to ask me questions as well. Before I speak to a school about you I will need scans of your diploma, passport (signature/photo page), official sealed transcripts (front & back of the unopened letter), and police background check. After the phone interview I'll speak with my schools in Korea about you and send them your information for their review.
If the school is satisfied with your teacher profile they will want to have a phone interview or they may make an offer of employment without one based on my recommendation and your paperwork. At that time you would review the offer then decide to either except it and sign the contract. Then it would be on to securing the visa and setting up the flight arrangements. I charge no fees to help you find a job and I am just making an introduction to a school on your behalf. The only fee I charge is to handle your E2 visa application, process your visa (includes all over night charges internationally and domestically) and to pay for the visa application fees at the Korean consulate. Please note that I do not employ you, nor do I have anything to do with your employment agreement between you and a prospective school.
The second phase was receiving an E2 visa issuance number within 5 business days from the Korean immigration and then I would submit the signed visa application, passport, a photocopy of the passport and a $45 dollar fee to the Korean consulate and within 3 business days they would issue a visa into the passport and then I would next-day deliver the passport and a Korea travel guide to the teacher a few days before they were to depart for Korea.
Now there are two additional new documents and an interview (all listed in detail below) that are required on top of the documents & fee listed above [1-7]).
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