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bossface
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
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 Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 8:28 am Post subject: hagwon closed - am i in for a world of hurt? |
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So my hagwon closed last week, at least the English portion of it. They have promised to pay my November and partial December salary (Nov. pay was due 12/10) before the end of December. I still have my apartment until then.
I have an E2, an ARC card that theoretically expires this summer, and a letter of release. I don't have an FBI check or an apostilled copy of my diploma, as these were not required when I joined this hagwon in 2009. When I renewed my contract last summer, I had my diploma verified through KCUE. I never saw nor received a copy of the KCUE verification, as my boss took this paper to Immigration himself when it came in the mail.
Will these immigration difficulties make it significantly harder for me to get a new job? I am looking at several jobs that start in March, as there are a lot more available then than now. Will visa regulations force me to get a job in January, or to do a visa run for a tourist visa if I want to stay in country until March? If I signed a contract for a job in March, and then took a vacation to a warmer country for a couple weeks in January or February, could I use my current ARC card? Or, for March jobs, am I better off just flying back to the US and doing a job search from there while gathering my docs? Ai, this is giving me a headache.
Maybe I should just move to Taiwan instead.
tl;dr - hagwon closed unexpectedly, visa status in limbo. |
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Junior
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: the eye
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 4:04 pm Post subject: Re: hagwon closed - am i in for a world of hurt? |
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| bossface wrote: |
| I don't have an FBI check or an apostilled copy of my diploma, as these were not required when I joined this hagwon in 2009. |
You will need them for your next E2.
However..many people are getting these requirements waived so long as you can prove that you have applied for them.
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| If I signed a contract for a job in March, and then took a vacation to a warmer country for a couple weeks in January or February, could I use my current ARC card? Or, for March jobs, am I better off just flying back to the US and doing a job search from there while gathering my docs? . |
You can stay in korea up until your current E2 has been cancelled, after which you have 2 weeks to exit.
Why not just keep your E2 going and stay here until you have found a new job/ gotten your docs together? You can get the apostille done by express mail.
If, however, your school has paid you a flight back home, then..GO. Don't stick around. It will save you money, and the next employer will pay you a new flight to come over again.
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| Ai, this is giving me a headache |
Yep. Unless you have all the time and money in the world to look for a job, wait for documents to arraive, etc.. then the logistics of it all have made the whole thing not worthwhile. You might go through all that hassle and find yourself in a bad hogwon job or find yourself fired in the first week. (Bosses are getting incredibly dictatorial now that there is an unlimited supply of teachers).
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| Maybe I should just move to Taiwan instead. |
Hows the job market there these days I wonder? Probably a similar deal to here.
Nothing is going to improve until US unemployment goes back down to 5%. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 4:23 pm Post subject: Re: hagwon closed - am i in for a world of hurt? |
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| bossface wrote: |
So my hagwon closed last week, at least the English portion of it. They have promised to pay my November and partial December salary (Nov. pay was due 12/10) before the end of December. I still have my apartment until then.
I have an E2, an ARC card that theoretically expires this summer, and a letter of release. I don't have an FBI check or an apostilled copy of my diploma, as these were not required when I joined this hagwon in 2009. When I renewed my contract last summer, I had my diploma verified through KCUE. I never saw nor received a copy of the KCUE verification, as my boss took this paper to Immigration himself when it came in the mail.
Will these immigration difficulties make it significantly harder for me to get a new job? I am looking at several jobs that start in March, as there are a lot more available then than now. Will visa regulations force me to get a job in January, or to do a visa run for a tourist visa if I want to stay in country until March? If I signed a contract for a job in March, and then took a vacation to a warmer country for a couple weeks in January or February, could I use my current ARC card? Or, for March jobs, am I better off just flying back to the US and doing a job search from there while gathering my docs? Ai, this is giving me a headache.
Maybe I should just move to Taiwan instead.
tl;dr - hagwon closed unexpectedly, visa status in limbo. |
Go to immigration. They will give you 30 days to find a new job and transfer your visa (or get your affairs in order and leave the country).
This is the one case where you CAN transfer to a new employer with less than 6 months of your contract completed.
You are required by law to report your change in status (loss of employment) to immigration within 14 days of the loss of your job.
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bossface
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 10:52 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the advice. I'm not getting an air ticket from my school. They still haven't paid my November salary, I'm sure they won't/can't pony up for a flight.
ttompatz - will immi give me 30 days to find a new job or start a new job? In other words, if I were to find a job over the next 30 days that starts in March, would I be able to stay here until March? Also, if I found a job for March, would I be able to use my multi-entry ARC (which I have) and spend part of my down time in the Philippines or Thailand?
Thanks again. |
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happiness
Joined: 04 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 12:02 am Post subject: Re: hagwon closed - am i in for a world of hurt? |
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| Junior wrote: |
| [(Bosses are getting incredibly dictatorial now that there is an unlimited supply of teachers).. |
yeah, i had an intv but the guy told me to bring all my documents and the agent wanted to go together. I said no dice, sounded too fishy. odd that. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 2:37 am Post subject: |
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| bossface wrote: |
Thanks for the advice. I'm not getting an air ticket from my school. They still haven't paid my November salary, I'm sure they won't/can't pony up for a flight.
ttompatz - will immi give me 30 days to find a new job or start a new job? In other words, if I were to find a job over the next 30 days that starts in March, would I be able to stay here until March? Also, if I found a job for March, would I be able to use my multi-entry ARC (which I have) and spend part of my down time in the Philippines or Thailand?
Thanks again. |
You can find a job that starts within 30 days and transfer to it with a minimum of paperwork then extend your visa to match your new job.
They will NOT let you stay in Korea until March on your current visa unless you are working and have an active sponsor.
If you want to hang around without working you will have to leave and return on a tourist stamp. This will also give you 90 days to find a new job or wait for a job to start (PS position perhaps?).
If you want to leave and return (spend a few months on the beach) you will need a new visa with all the attendant paperwork that a new visa requires (like CBC and new degree copy (both with apostille)).
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Junior
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: the eye
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 4:28 am Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| They will NOT let you stay in Korea until March on your current visa unless you are working and have an active sponsor. |
He can hang around on his present E2 until it expires-wether he's actually working or not.
Its just a matter of not going to cancel it.
An E2 has to be cancelled formally, together with both employer and employee present. if you don't do that, then..you don't have to leave the country.
It used to be the case that most employers would not cancel it until you found a new job. Then they would want to make a deal with your new emloyer to release you. |
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Troglodyte
Joined: 06 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 6:05 am Post subject: |
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| Junior wrote: |
| ttompatz wrote: |
| They will NOT let you stay in Korea until March on your current visa unless you are working and have an active sponsor. |
He can hang around on his present E2 until it expires-wether he's actually working or not.
Its just a matter of not going to cancel it.
An E2 has to be cancelled formally, together with both employer and employee present. if you don't do that, then..you don't have to leave the country.
It used to be the case that most employers would not cancel it until you found a new job. Then they would want to make a deal with your new emloyer to release you. |
OP, don't do this. If the school is going out of business or already has, then you need to either find a job that will start in the next few weeks - not March. If you hang around on your current E2, you have to live with the possibility that your current employer will get nervous about having your on record but not actually employing you. He may worry about getting caught doing something illegal or about having to pay some tax for you. If that happens, he'll just cancel the visa himself. If you haven't been in to work, he can easily use that as his reason for firing you. Hogwon owners are polite and honest up to the point that it serves their benefit. If it's to his benefit to be polite and offer you an LOR and the use of the apartment (so that you don't complain to the labor board) then he'll act like your best friend. It's not a good situation to put yourself in. As well, the new visa regulations that come into effect in January may make it difficult for you to transfer without the new CBC and such. Try to find a job that will hire you with an official start date before 31 December (or in January at least). If you tell schools that you can do a visa transfer, you'll get a LOT more offers than if you have to do a visa run, and especially more than if you are back home applying from abroad. If you start a new job then you'll be in the country and can complain to the labor board if/when your boss doesn't pay you your remaining salary. |
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Junior
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: the eye
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Troglodyte wrote: |
| If you hang around on your current E2, you have to live with the possibility that your current employer will get nervous about having your on record but not actually employing you. He may worry about getting caught doing something illegal or about having to pay some tax for you. |
There is no "pet waygook tax".
Tax is paid on earnings only. It is within your employers rights to give you 6 months off work, unpaid. This is not the business of Immigration or the tax office.
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| he'll just cancel the visa himself. |
Impossible. Both employer and employee have to go to immigration to cancel a visa. The employee must verifiably know his visa has been cancelled and recieve a stamp in his passport saying so.
Just relax and hang tight OP. You can ask your employer to cancel the visa in your own time. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 4:04 pm Post subject: |
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There is, however, the required (within 14 days of the occurrence) report of change in status of sojourn to immigration.
Failure to report said change CAN result in problems (it is an immigration violation).
CAN the OP do as suggested = yes.
ARE there RISKS in doing it = yes.
ARE there better ways to do it with no risk = yes (as outlined above).
CAN and DO some people take shortcuts and ignore the laws = yes.
Do SOME people get caught = yes.
Do many people get caught = no.
Can the OP get away with it = probably.
Is he willing to risk it rather than follow the law and stay legal = unknown.
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TheresaTheresa
Joined: 24 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 10:14 pm Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
There is, however, the required (within 14 days of the occurrence) report of change in status of sojourn to immigration.
Failure to report said change CAN result in problems (it is an immigration violation).
CAN the OP do as suggested = yes.
ARE there RISKS in doing it = yes.
ARE there better ways to do it with no risk = yes (as outlined above).
CAN and DO some people take shortcuts and ignore the laws = yes.
Do SOME people get caught = yes.
Do many people get caught = no.
Can the OP get away with it = probably.
Is he willing to risk it rather than follow the law and stay legal = unknown.
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I'd like to express how madly in love with Ttompatz I am...  |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 10:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Junior wrote: |
[q
Impossible. Both employer and employee have to go to immigration to cancel a visa.
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Untrue. You can cancel your own visa. |
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bossface
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:08 am Post subject: |
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i figured i should do a follow-up on this thread -
i found out through some other sources (recruiters, calling Immigration) that i had 30 days, not 14 to get to immi to tell them my situation. i tried to go on day 14 anyway, but i didn't have all my docs and i ended up making an appointment for day 15. I already had a letter of release from my now insolvent hagwon. i also went through KCUE to verify my degree last summer, and i found out at immi that, shockingly, my boss really did go there to turn in my degree verification. therefore, i didn't need an appostilled copy of my degree, that matter was already settled through KCUE.
the immi agent that i dealt with was really kind and understanding, and she also understood that it will take forever to get an FBI background check. she gave me a couple of papers to show to my future boss (i still had no job at the time) and told me that so long as i come back to immi with those documents filled out and a new contract sometime in January (even if the job didn't start in January), i would be fine.
last week, i got my new job. it was the job i wanted all along, so good times. the job starts at the end of February. i went back to immi today with a representative from my new school and worked with the same immi officer as last time. i showed her my documents, filled out a form, paid 30k for a visa extension, and it was done. i was in and out of immi in under 20 minutes, and now i'm legal until next March.
added bonus - she said that there was no longer a single-entry/multi-entry distinction, at least for US citizens, i can't speak for elsewhere. this means that i will, in fact, be able to spend a good portion of February chilling out on a beach somewhere.
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Troglodyte
Joined: 06 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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| 30 days instead of 14 for a visa transfer? I also haven't heard of them let you have a gap of a couple months between jobs when you transfer. I'd recommend that anyone who plans on transferring should check in with immigration before assuming that this is a new procedure and not just a once off incident. |
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emmajuno
Joined: 11 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:46 pm Post subject: Re: hagwon closed - am i in for a world of hurt? |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
This is the one case where you CAN transfer to a new employer with less than 6 months of your contract completed.
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Can you do that (transfer before 6 months) if your employer signs a visa transfer without the hagwon closing? My employer has said that she will if I want to leave. |
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