Changes in U.S. visa policy have once again thrown up roadblocks for school districts that rely on international 糖心动漫vlog to address persistent teacher shortages in subjects like math, science, and foreign languages.
President Donald Trump announced Sept. 19 a new fee of $100,000 to obtain an H1-B visa, one of the primary visas used by international teachers. That鈥檚 a dramatic cost increase for the credential, which previously had a $2,000 to $5,000 application fee. The Trump administration also proposed a new H1-B application process that would give preference to workers in jobs with higher salaries.
The new fee has created upheaval for districts in both major cities and in rural areas in states like Alaska, Texas, and North Dakota.
鈥淲ith a pen stroke, we possibly have ruined the future of education for Alaska students,鈥� Kodiak Island Borough Superintendent Cyndy Mika Monday.
The 2,000-student district, which covers remote villages on a large island, employs 30 international teachers, and many rely on H1-B visas, she said. The strategy has been so successful that Mika organized a recruiting trip to the Philippines with leaders from four other Alaska districts earlier this year, APM reported.
Education organizations and lawmakers from both major parties have raised concerns about how the new fee, which took effect two days after Trump signed his Sept. 19 executive order, will affect teacher staffing.
Trump鈥檚 order allows the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security to exempt individual applicants or targeted industries from the new fee if it is 鈥渋n the national interest and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States.鈥� AASA, the School Superintendents Association, is pressing the administration to include teachers as an exempt profession, Senior Government Affairs Manager Tara Thomas
The administration has also proposed replacing a current random lottery system for applicants seeking one of the 65,000 H1-B visas issued annually with a weighted process that gives preference to employees in higher-paying jobs. on that proposal already cite concerns about how it would affect 糖心动漫vlog. AASA also plans to comment on the proposal calling for support for school districts in the lottery process, Thomas wrote.
鈥淪ince teacher pay is relatively low in comparison to other employers who participate in this program, such as tech companies, this could further hurt school districts鈥� chances in being selected and granted a petition,鈥� she said.
A spokesperson for the State Department did not respond to emailed questions about the visa changes.
Districts hire international teachers to fill staffing gaps
The new visa fee is the latest chapter in an uncertain time for immigration policy that has led some districts to scale back their international recruiting efforts or abandon them entirely.
In May, districts faced another hurdle when the State Department temporarily halted issuing J-1 visas, the other credential used by international teachers. Though the agency has since resumed issuing those visas, the indefinite down time and unclear communication raised anxiety for some district leaders, who鈥檝e mastered the ins and outs of immigration law to keep their classrooms staffed.
J-1 visas鈥攁lso used by live-in au pairs, international summer camp counselors, and seasonal workers in tourist areas鈥攁llow international teachers to participate in a 鈥渃ultural exchange鈥� by teaching in U.S. schools for up to three years.
By contrast, H1-B visas, which have a more complicated and costly application process, allow highly skilled workers in specialty occupations to work in the U.S. for up to six years, with the possibility for renewal after that. H1-B visas also offer a path to permanent residency, but shorter-term J-1 visas don鈥檛. There are no federal data on how many teachers are employed through either form of visa.
Districts typically jump through hoops to get an H1-B visa for an international teacher if they want them to fill a particularly hard-to-fill position for a longer period of time, George Shipley, superintendent of the Bison, S.D., district, told Education Week in June.
Three of the small, rural district鈥檚 18 teachers are international exchange participants from the Philippines. Two of them rely on J-1 visas, and one, a high school math teacher, is on an H1-B visa, Shipley said.
鈥淚f we get someone good and we want to keep them here long term, I could recommend an H1-B,鈥� said Shipley, who added that he 鈥渄idn鈥檛 expect to know this much about the visa process鈥� when he became an educator. The rural superintendent has traded tips with peers on the ins and outs of the visa process.
New visa fee unsustainable for school districts
Even before the recent visa changes, the Milwaukee district decided to suspend a program it once used , Superintendent Brenda Cassellius Sept. 24.
鈥淲e decided a while ago just because of the political climate鈥攚ith [increased immigration enforcement] and all of that鈥攖hat it would be challenging ... to get those applications through,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow that there is even further policy [change] by the administration, I think that makes it even more challenging.鈥�
School districts around the country have said the most recent visa changes could affect their hiring plans.
Texas school districts and charter schools employ 500 teachers through H1-B visas, . One district called the fee change 鈥渦nsustainable.鈥� North Carolina schools have similar concerns.
鈥淪imply put, most schools could not sustain such costs,鈥� a spokesperson for TMSA Public Charter Schools, which operates across the state, . 鈥淲ithout an exemption, the result could be a severe shortage of qualified teachers at a time when schools nationwide already face staffing challenges.鈥�
The new fees do not apply to applications that were in progress before the changes were announced, the Trump administration said.
Other industry groups, including those representing doctors and hospitals, have petitioned for blanket exemptions.
A bipartisan group of senators have to close loopholes in the H1-B application process, claiming companies abuse the credentials to pay foreign employees lower wages and crowd out available U.S. talent.
While Trump said his order was designed to preserve U.S. competitiveness, some lawmakers in his own party have sounded the alarm at possible effects on schools. Alaska Rep. Nick Begich, a Republican, said in a Sept. 25 interview that he鈥檇 raised those concerns with the Trump administration.
鈥淲e know that it鈥檚 a hard job to fill, and when you鈥檝e got positions that go unfilled, it means that kids are going uneducated,鈥� he said.
