I'm Back...Again!

I came back to Korea…again. Korea, I guess I just don’t know how to quit you. So far, it’s good though.

One question I often get is how to navigate the visa process. Since I just did it, I’ll let you know what I did. Keep in mind that I’m American so the process might be different for other countries.

Diploma with Apostille

You will need your university diploma. I lost mine but I was able to order a copy from my university.  If I’m not mistaken, the registrar was able to sign/notarize the back with the appropriate text. (Let your university know you’re getting the diploma apostilled. They can recommend the appropriate procedure.) Then, I sent it to the Florida Department of State – Apostille Division with a check, a letter explaining what I needed, and a prepaid return envelope.

I’m a little fuzzy on this procedure since I last did it in 2012. At the end of my last contract in Korea, my apostilled diploma was returned to me. I just reused it for this visa. A few recruiters tried to tell me that the apostille had to be less than 6 months old but that’s simply not true. My diploma didn’t change so why would the apostille need to be updated? I used my apostille from 2012 to get a visa in 2017 without a problem.

FBI Background Check & Authentication

The FBI background check is a little more complex than the other documents. This is especially true since you can’t use a background check that is more than six months old.  To get your background check, you first have to get fingerprinted. Then, you get the fingerprints to the FBI. Once you have your results, you have to get them authenticated by US Department of State.

For my FBI background check, I used a FBI channeler service I found on the FBI’s website. I used National Background Check, Inc. because they had an electronic fingerprint location near my office. The prints cost me $20. After I got the prints done, I sent in an order form and a credit card number. It costs $85 for them to take my request to the FBI and send me my results. I did, however, receive my results in only a few days. (In 2012, I sent a paper copy of my prints to the FBI and it took six weeks for me to get my results. It was cheaper but it took significantly longer.)

Once I received my clean FBI check, I used US AuthenticationServices to get the necessary authentication. I sent a check for $55 along with an order form, a return envelope, and my background check.  I got my authenticated document in a few days.

Getting a Job

Once you have your passport, diploma with apostille, and authenticated FBI background check, you are ready to look for a job. Most recruiters and hiring managers won’t bother talking to you without these documents in hand since they can take a while to get and you can’t apply for a visa without them.

To find job listings, I looked mostly on Dave’s ESL Café. There are a ton of jobs there. When you inquire about a job, it’s normal to send your resume, a cover letter, PDFs of your documents (passport ID page, FBI check, and diploma with apostille), and a few nice pictures of yourself. I like to be thorough (and a little extra, to be honest) so I also sent PDFs of my letters of recommendations and my TEFL certification.

I found that most schools hire through recruiters. I must’ve spoken to 10 recruiters over a period of a few weeks. Honestly, all of the recruiters were nice but most of them didn’t have a job for me. I was looking to go back to a specific city and that narrowed my options a bit.  I ended up getting a job through a recruiter named Kevin Pak of Teaching Jobs Korea.

The Visa Process

Once I signed a contract, I had to mail a bunch of documents to my new employer in Korea. I had to send the authenticated background check, the diploma and apostille, 4 passport sized photos, a health check form, the signed contract, a copy of my passport’s ID page, and a visa application form. Once these arrived in Korea, my school started the visa process.

When my school was finished with things on their end, they sent me a visa number and a few other pieces of information. This is when I had to apply for a visa with the nearest Korean consulate/embassy.

When I first came to Korea in 2009, the consulate required an in-person interview. Not this time. This time, it was all by mail. I sent in my visa application form, a money order, my passport, a passport sized photo, and a prepaid return envelope. (I don’t remember if I had to send in transcripts or not. I do remember ordering two transcripts from my university but I can’t remember if I needed them.)  I got my visa/passport back in a week or so.

Once I got my visa, I sent a photo of it to my school so they could go ahead and buy my plane ticket.

Overall, my process was pretty smooth. The worst part, by far, was meeting on Skype with recruiter after recruiter. Since the east coast of Florida and Korea are 13 hours apart (14 in daylight savings time) finding a time that worked for everyone could be difficult. Once I found a job though, I didn’t have any issues. 

The should probably be my own personal flag.