Korean Job Discussion Forums

DaeguKid · Joined: 09 Dec 2006 Location: Daegu

Hey folks, question for you. A friend of mine had go a DUI from the States back in '07. It was a misdamenor (sp?) charge. Will this show up on his FBI background check and if it does, will he be granted an E2 visa to teach?

I would greatly appreciate any info on this. It seems that a DUI is more common than one would think and I would imagine there is someone out there in the DaveWorld that would know the answer.

Thanks
DK

nick70100 · Joined: 09 Sep 2005

babsie · Joined: 03 Nov 2011 Location: las vegas

I'm pretty much in the same boat. I heard each acceptance was taken on a case by case basis. So far I've only read about people being shot down by recruiters, although I haven't heard anyone in 2011 being accepted either. I'd say give it a try until you're proved wrong. That's what I'm doing anyway. You can also look into expunging your dui, although I'm not sure what that entails.

hellofaniceguy · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: On your computer screen!

If the arrest record shows up on the feds report....no job.
Anytime someone gets arrested in the U.S., their prints are automatically sent to the feds for cross checking and consequently listed on the report 99 percent of the time.
Does not mean someone was convicted...just means that they were arrested.
Same with people who have spent YEARS in prison only to have been cleared and did NOT do the crime....their names still come up on their rap sheet.

Adventurer · Joined: 28 Jan 2006

An FBI check shows everything, so it will show up on his record. He could try Japan or China. As far as his chances, he has at most a 50/50 chance. I can't say if he has 50/50 or less. I am not an immigration official. An immigration official could look at how long ago it was, how many times it occurred, and if the person taught in Korea before. Some might be accepted by Korean Immigration. It depends on the discretion of the individual which has been the case since 2008, and it's sill the case.

Recruiters will not want to deal with a person with a DUI because they make money if Korean Immigration accepts you, and if Korean Immigration rejects the person, they've lost time and money. So a recruiter would tell you it's impossible. That's not true. It's difficult. They wouldn't want to bother, and you might take the same attitude if you were a recruiter, wouldn't you? Of course, recruiters are going to say it's impossible. Really, they mean it's impossible for them to deal with, not worth their time.
They're business people.

mikesaidyes · Joined: 26 Apr 2011 Location: Sanbon, South Korea

Word of advice: Let worrying go until you have your background check. You can't do anything until you have it.

In 2009, I was arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession in Atlanta, GA, USA. I went to the APD to get my prints and just ran a local/state check. There was "no arrest history or past convictions" AT ALL on the record.

That being said, when I was arrested I was fingerprinted, I had to do pre trial intervention and the case was marked as dismissed. Apparently, I was supposed to do something for expungement but I never did....yet my local and state (which is what databases the FBI pulls from) were clear.

So I reached out to the FBI just to be sure (because I was worrying so much). They claimed that yes, because I was fingerprinted, it would come back to them and show up on my report and that the only time something like this completely disappears is when a lawyer goes to court for a special expungement.

Obviously, not true. My FBI report was spotless and I'm currently here in Korea.

Just wait it out two months and then you'll know. Go ahead and order a copy of your degree and have it apostilled (and get all of your other E-2 docs in order). That will only cost you like $20.

When you get your FBI check, if it's clean, send it to DC with an apostille service (like $90, they go and sit in the office on your behalf) and get it back in a week or less. Then you can be hired by recruiters in one day and in Korea in a matter of weeks. They'll be all over you if you have all your documents ready.

Sucks, but it's life and what will happen will happen. And, oh, yea, what everyone else says - if it does show up, no job no way no how.

Best of luck!

Adventurer · Joined: 28 Jan 2006

SoylaMBPolymath · Joined: 21 Jan 2011

The FBI does not "fish" for your information to add to its database. The information the FBI has will depend upon whether or not the state you reside in has decided to report information about an arrest to the NCIC database. This varies by state and is typically dictated by legislation. My home state, Texas, reports some Misdemeanors to the FBI, but only if they are above Class C, Class C being the lowest according to the Texas Penal Code. A municipal offense would go to the State database, and if it's above Class A it would thereafter go to the FBI. For example, a DUI in Texas is (I believe) a Class B Misdemeanor and therefore WOULD be sent "up the chain". Bear in mind this is only as it pertains to Texas. Each state is different and has different standards of determining what will and will not constitute a reportable offense. I keep reading (erroneously) people insisting that, "If you were fingerprinted, you're screwed." That's not true. You can have an arrest record, have been fingerprinted, have your mugshot taken, and not have that arrest appear on an FBI CBC. It will depend upon what the arresting municipality and state have mandated be done with that information according to statute.