Job Discussion Forums

[refazenda]

[quote="Glenski
Pardon me, but now you are just being silly, if not totally ridiculous.
As ls650 wrote, it's up to you to give your passport info (or any other info for that matter), but you are plainly limiting your options of getting a job. You might get away with squirming around providing your SSN in the USA, but Japanese are not as accommodating with such shenanigans. It will definitely look as if you have something to hide, whether ethnicity, age, citizenship, or perhaps even having a passport in the first place![/quote]

I think you should read what I wrote more carefully without calling me 'silly". Maybe you have been abroad for awhile, and since I have never lived abroad we don't see things the same way, but there is a big problem in the US with something called �dentity theft'. I really did not want to mention it because I am not trying to be accusatory, but to me, my passport info is like my SSN; I am more than willing to divulge it to a legitimate employer. The key word there is �mployer'. When I am applying, however, I will state that I have a US passport, that I am a US citizen by birth, I will even give the expiration date of my passport; I just prefer to give the copy to my prospective employer, not to 100 schools or companies to which I apply.

Someone here mentioned that people sometimes lie about their age or sex on their applications. Well, dishonesty can be found on both sides; unfortunate but true. I came here to ask a question, to find out how these things are generally handled with overseas employers. In fact I have found very few employers ask me for this information immediately, and to be honest, I appreciate their assumed trust in me; I thought, possibly erroneously, that most employees would act it a similar manner, but it is entirely possible that some employers or some regions of the world have experiences with falsification of qualifications more than others.

If you think I am being silly, so be it. Maybe some employers will 86 my application; I have not found that to be the case across the board.

[VanKen]

[refazenda]

I am letting employers know that I have a valid US passport , and that I am a US citizen by birth. If the empoyer and I have reached a mutual agreement regarding a contract, then I will supply a copy of the passport.

I don't think there is anything wrong with letting them know I am a passport holder and US native by birth in my initial contact, especially since many people (including those born in the US) have a preconceived notion of what constitutes an American name, and I happen to have a name that is often perceived as foreign (which is another topic altogether - if you're not Native American/American Indian, your ancestors were immigrants, and therefore foreigners!).

[johnslat]

Dear refazenda,

"if you're not Native American/American Indian, your ancestors were immigrants, and therefore foreigners!)."

Well, not to change the subject, but if you go back far enough, we're ALL immigrants here in the USA:


http://www.ragz-international.com/american_indians_or_native_ameri.htm

An excerpt:

"Like the white settlers, the first Indians were immigrants. Anthropologists say they came from northeastern Asia . They resembled the early Mongoloid people of that region. Nobody knows when or how they came. They probably arrived when ice sheets covered much of northern North America . This may have been 20,000 to 30,000 years ago.

They may have come because they were wandering hunters, like most people of that era. They crossed the Bering Strait to Alaska , seeking new hunting grounds. Bridges of land existed then, making passage easy. There seem to have been ice-free land and game in Alaska and open land east of the Rocky Mountains , leading into the heart of North America . Perhaps the Indians moved along this area as they needed new hunting grounds. Gradually the ice melted, and the Indians spread to most parts of both Americas . They did not fill this vast area. It has been estimated that only about 1,025,000 were living north of Mexico when the first white men came to America."

Regards,
John

[refazenda]

We all know anthropologists change their stories from time to time, right? Well, Native people say they are from this place that is currently called the US. Besides, the land-bridge theory has been hotly debated; some say the great crossing could not have happened, and that Native people came over on boats from Polynesia (didn't Thor Heyerdahl prove that could have happened?. So there are at least three theories, not wait four. Some have said that Native people came over by way of Europe.

Given that, and given the fact that if Native people did come from somewhere else they came a very very long time ago, they are still the original people - unless, of course, there is yet another theory that is proven as fact!

[dmb]

If you go really far back in history does it not mean we all descended from immigrants(Except for one place in Africa)
Scots don't descend from Scots
Aborigines don't descend from Aborigines.
Etc, etc, etc

We are all descendants from Africa. No?

[refazenda]

...why doesn't everyone simply say they are African-American?

[johnslat]

Dear refazenda,
Or - perhaps even better/more correct, when asked what race you are, just answer: the human one.
Regards,
John

[Gerhard E. Jene]

Come on people, please let us get back to the real question in hand. That is supply and demand of information in regards to a persons' passport info.
Some employers want the information to make sure that the passport does not in any way expire during employment or sooner than 6 months after departure from the overseas job.
If you check with Customs Agents and/or Immigration in regards to this, it would be most helpful than all this bickering. Granted there is a possibility of identity theft, but I am not sure of the percentages and of what countries are the most popular. Right now I am not sure the U.S. is that popular with the war.
So if someone can provide the correct information as to why most employers ask for a copy of the passport data page in regards to immigration or work laws of a foreign country it would be most helpful. Otherwise please take the pettiness somewhere else. I took a course in travel and tourism and one thing they mentioned was that if a passport was needed to gain entry into another country was to make sure it was valid for more than 6 months after departure. That was in case if something were to go wrong (ie. jail or hospitalization).

[ls650]

[desert flower]

I don't know what the problem is here but,as stated in previous responses, a cover letter and resume are all you need for a first contact with a propective employer.

The second step that will be required if an employer is interested in your application, will be to send in a copy of your passport which is normal procedures in order to start processing a work visa.

Immigration procedures differ in all countries. It does take longer to process work visas in certain countries like Turkey and in some areas of the Middle East.

Providing a copy of your passport right at the beginning may speed up the whole process and may even get you a job faster as some employers prefer having all the required information to start with. Applicants who provide a copy of their passport early in the process may have a better chance of getting contacted for a job in the future. if employers have to wait too long for documents, they may discard your application.

Why not send it earlier on in the process and ask the employer what else is needed in term of documentation in order to speed up the whole process?

Good Luck!

[Deborah]

If simply supplying your passport numbers to an interested potential employer is bugging you, wait until you need to send your actual passport in the post to the embassy for a country you want to live/work in for a visa application!