Job Discussion Forums

[Yenifer_LA]

Hi all...

i've seen so many discussions about how hard it can be for US citizens to get working visas in latin america....

i am currently living in California where i hold legal residency but not citizenship. I still hold my citizenship and passport from El Salvador.

Does not being a US citizen make it easier or harder to enter LA countries? Why are visas hard to come about?

[Justin Trullinger]

I'm not sure what you mean about visas being hard to come about.

But to answer your question- many places in Latin American most people have no idea what decent English sounds like, or what qualifications a teacher should have.

This is further complicated by the fact that the economies in many places are so rough that it's hard to attract genuine professional teachers.

They wind up judging things largely by tangential issues. If you have a US passport, it means (to them) that you speak proper, native English. If you don't (they think) it means that you don't.

FOr this reason, some, though not all, countries restrict visas for English teaching to holders of passports from native English speaking countries. Why, the logic goes, do they need to import non-native speaking English teachers? THey have their own locally. Only the native variety seems to be worth bringing from the outside.

As I said, this isn't everywhere, but it is a concern.

How long have you been in the US? Eligible for citizenship? It could make things easier...


Best,
Justin

[Guy Courchesne]

My thinking here is that moving through Latin America on an El Salvador passport will make things extraordinarily tough. I highly doubt Mexico would issue a work visa on it. I assume you are asking because you want to work as an English teacher in Latin America and not simply come as a tourist.

Not sure if US residency is taken into account here though. I'd want to say no on that.

[naturegirl321]

It's not difficult for Americans to get work visas here in Peru, it's hard for everyone, there are tons of hoops to jump through.

Having an El Salvadorian passport might help you, but I'm not sure, maybe you'll be able to stay in X country longer.

As for jobs, very few employees have asked to see my passport.

[john_n_carolina]

....seems to me, you need to talk to someone at the ElSalvadorean Embassy in California. That's where you're a citizen from.

i don't think your U.S. residency card holds weight anywhere, especially after the last eight years.

[kingkristopher]

The last 8 years have nothing to do with immigration policies, let's leave the political cheapshots for other fora ok? As for the OP, a US passport is an advantage rather than a disadvantage when seeking ESL jobs in L.A. (or anywhere for that matter-except the EU). As for Immigration policies, I don't think they distinguish between countries. One country is just as good as another, though many countries do have regulations that English teachers must hold a passport from an English-speaking countries.