Job Discussion Forums

Cairo Chica · Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 13

Hi all,
I have an offer from a school, and they are requesting all of my certifications, CV and "certificate of employment" to be stamped by the US Dept of foreign affairs. They say they need this to apply for my work visa.

It's unclear to me why they are being stamped. What would a stamp signify? I have a CELTA, which is a certification from the UK, so how will the US dept of foreign affairs verify that it is a credible document? Also, what is a certificate of employment?

Where do I begin to have this done? Are there regional offices, or does everything need to be sent to DC? How do I get in touch with that dept? Is there a website I'm not finding?

Thanks

AGoodStory · Joined: 26 Feb 2010 Posts: 738

Can we assume that the school is in Egypt? And that you hold a US passport?

Cairo Chica · Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 13

Yes, both are true.

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2010 8:42 pm Post subject:

U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs...would that be marital or non-marital?

NCTBA

Cairo Chica · Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 13

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2010 7:48 pm Post subject:

Well...

1.) There is no such thing as the "U. S. Department of Foreign Affairs...it's the U.S.State Department and,

2.) The term "Affairs" was a play on definitions... Rolling Eyes

NCTBA

Cairo Chica · Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 13

tttompatz · Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2010 9:17 pm Post subject:

If they want to verify your documents they are probably referring to getting an apostille* affixed to them.

The process varies a bit from state to state so the how-to-do-it would depend on the state in question.

Google for your specific particulars.

* The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization for Foreign Public Documents is one of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. It specifies the modalities through which a document issued in one of the signatory countries can be certified for legal purposes in all the other signatory states. Such a certification is called an apostille (a French word meaning certification). It is an international certification comparable to a notarization in domestic law.

.

Cairo Chica · Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 13

AGoodStory · Joined: 26 Feb 2010 Posts: 738

Cairo Chica · Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 13

I don't have the luxury of time to sift through irrelevant responses. I am shipping overseas for my first teaching job and cannot leave until the visa is processed. Having my documents stamped is the first step in the process and whatever I can do to expedite that, I will. I figured I could come to this board and get advice from seasoned teachers who've done this many times.

I can appreciate a joke and off topic humor, but if you know the answer, include that in with your humor. Don't string me along for days while withholding "useful nuggets".

Because of the time sensitive nature, I am flying to Washington DC to have the documents stamped in person.

Perhaps when I have questions that don't require a speedy response, I'll be in a better mood to respond to attempts at humor.

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2010 10:52 pm Post subject:

You, my dear, if of so little humour now, will face a very, VERY steep hill in the MENA. If, as you say, your school mis-wrote a VERY basic name of a government institution so vital to your overseas "venture", I can't even imagine where else they've led you astray.

I will watch this and other spaces for your tension to snap as you wind yer life through the bureaucratic maze of the world that you seek to inflict yerself upon.

Go with God o' Weedhoppa...

Oh, if you require any help of the "U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs", I suggest you seek out the "U. S. Higher Commission" in Cairo...

Now, y'all get on with yer busy and important life...there's a plane ta catch! An' remember, us posters in the region are only here to serve you personally!

NCTBA

AGoodStory · Joined: 26 Feb 2010 Posts: 738

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Interestingly I had already answered her question on the Egypt board yesterday morning. The only form she has to be certified is her CELTA certificate - as she has no degrees and only some volunteer teaching so no letters of employment... and a CV is never done - and I gave her an agent to contact to handle the process. I suspect that the agent would have been cheaper than a flight ticket.

To be honest, I would suspect that if she arrived without her CELTA certificate "certified", it wouldn't make much difference to her employer. This is Egypt... the land of "ma'alish" Cool

She doesn't need a visa to go to Egypt... all one needs to do is arrive at the airport with a valid US passport and what is it these days? $25 or whatever they charge.

I already warned her that her employer is likely not going to be much.

VS

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2010 3:22 am Post subject:

And, if she has a rough spell of it, she can always contact the "U.S. High Commission" in Cairo...

NCTBA (the "A" meaning 'admonished')