The_Eyeball_Kid
Joined: 20 Jun 2007
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 Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 7:13 am Post subject: New E2 Visa Regs cleared up at last... |
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From today's Korea Times:
[url]
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2007/12/137_16182.html[/url]
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Misunderstanding of E2 Visas
By Lee Dong-wook
Some recent articles in The Korea Times by E-2 visa holding English teachers were shocking to my colleagues and myself who work in the Korea Immigration Service, the Ministry of Justice.
Let me take some examples one by one.
Firstly, Mr. David Louis Quick, an American English teacher, made incorrect claims in his Dec. 5 article, which can be summarized as follows:
(1). The Ministry of Justice seemingly made no attempt to understand the situation of native English teachers and the bureaucracy of their home countries.
(2). A criminal records check in the U.S. is only effective if it is conducted at a national level and the only way to be truly sure that the criminal check is conducted nationally is to have it done by the FBI.
(3). Prospective and current teachers will simply choose to teach in Japan, China or other countries, which do not require such an extraordinary burden to be borne by the employee alone
When one makes arguments, it is very easy for people to fall into the trap of emotional feelings and become very illogical, unless he is well trained in logical reasoning. He was too farfetched in many ways.
The Ministry of Justice, nay more specifically my colleagues and I have made every possible attempt to understand the situation of native English teachers and that of their home country's legalities.
To take a few examples, we are maintaining very close contact with seven embassies _ the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa ― from countries whose citizens qualify for the E2 visa.
He also argues that it may take up to seven months to get his criminal record if he uses the FBI services. Thanks to my personal experience as a member of the New York bar and with experience working at an American court and the Korean Ministry of Justice, I can say he was wrong or at least very misguided.
There are several ways he can get his criminal record from Korea. Other than using the FBI service, he can use the following options:
(1). If he contacts a local police station by fax or by mail, he can get the documents sooner and notarized at the U.S. Embassy in Korea.
(2). If he is uncomfortable with the local police station, he can use a privately-run criminal check system, for example an online site (http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com), although he may be charged up to $59.95.
He needs to have the documents notarized in his embassy. However, in the process of notarization, he can be charged if he commits perjury.
For citizens of other countries where such Web sites do not exist, we are also in close contact with other embassies and can find reliable alternatives. For example, if there are other regulations that make it difficult to get a criminal record in a short period of time, we are willing to provide a grace period with a sufficiently reliable explanatory note from the relevant embassies here in Korea.
I have good reason to believe that the majority of E-2 teaching visa holders have no problems with these regulatory changes. Despite this personal belief, there is a strong outcry among the Korean people against the potential risks posed by some problematic English teachers.
To name a few, Mr. Christopher Paul Neil, the serial child sex offender was detected while teaching in Korea with the false documentation. There were sporadic news reports about the holders of fraudulent diplomas and drug use this year.
Of course, I do not believe that every English teacher is like Mr. Neil. For that reason, my colleagues and I are working hard to understand the situation of the native speakers more.
Mr. Quick also mentioned in a semi-threatening way that ``prospective and current teachers will simply choose to teach in Japan, China, or other countries, which do not require such an extraordinary burden � "
Between the two difficult tasks of not burdening too much on the E-2 visa holders and helping Korean students learn in safe environments, my colleagues and I myself will take a very cautious and balanced approach. But the bottom line is very clear: We cannot tolerate sex offenders in classrooms.
If Japan, China, and any other countries do not require such an extraordinary burden from English teachers and leave their children at the risk of being exposed to sex offenders and if many English teachers here opt for China or Japan to avoid the criminal record check, I do not have many choices but to lament about the safety of the children in China and Japan.
Because everyone in any country and regardless of whether they are children or not, need to be protected from sex offenders, drug addicts and fraudulent diploma holders.
Secondly, I would like to mention Mr. Brian Deutsch's Dec. 8 article titled ``About Foreign Teachers.'' At the end of his article he abruptly mentions: ``And lately, I have the impression that Korean officials are actually trying to repel all its [native English] teachers."
To this argument, I would like to say that he was wrong, very wrong. If we really wanted to force all teachers away from this country, we would not have had the meetings with consular officers. We would not consider having grace periods for the E-2 teaching visa holders.
We would not accept the declaratory affidavit notarized by the embassy as a temporary measure till the true and accurate criminal background record arrives.
If Mr. Deutschland is still skeptical simply because of his ``impression,'' please feel free to contact my colleagues or myself and we are willing to provide more detailed information and explanation.
Lee Dong-wook is a member of the New York Bar and the American Immigration Lawyers Association and currently working with the Korean Ministry of Justice. He can be reached at [email protected]."
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