On Mar 11, 11:07 am, GreenHotWater
wrote:
> Hi, my husband and i are looking to move to Houston as teachers, we plan
> to move accross next summer (2008), to teach in one of Houstons schools.
The earliest you're likely to be able to start work is October 1, 2008
- more likely a year later.
> My husband teaches secondary/high school citizenship/social studies, and
> i teach elementary level. We both have experience of SEN (special
> educational needs) and know a reasonable amount of spanish.
You may also need State certifications to work as teachers - this may
be the main delaying factor.
> We understand that we will need to get a HB1 visa, but do we need to get
> a position first or after and is sponsership necessary?
I assume you mean H-1B. The potential employer applies for H-1B
authorisation to employ you. You'll each need your own H-1B
authorisation. Unless the allocations get changed by Congress, the
period during which the employer can apply starts on April 1 each
year, and the allocation is likely to be used up within a month or
two. Applications made from April enable the worker to start from
October 1 of the same year. The basic process is:
- you get all your qualifications and certifications lined up, and
work with the employer and his attorneys to make sure that their
equivalence to the required USA qualifications is clear
- employer applies for H-1B authorisation for you as soon after April
1 as possible
- once the application is approved, you use the approval notice to get
your H-1B visa
- you use the visa to enter the USA shortly before the application
approval date, and start work on or after the approval date (which
will typically be October 1.
If you both want to work, you both need to go through this process
individually. If one of you chooses not to work, they can go with the
other as an H-4 dependent but won't be able to do work of any sort.
> Does anyone know whether teachers can be fast tracked through due to the
> shortages?
The H-1B visa process was set up as a fast-track way to deal with
shortages ...
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