Korean Job Discussion Forums

[casey's moon]

Hey all...

DOH! My first major blunder for the new year...

On the weekend my husband and I put our stuff into storage for one month (while we wait for our apt to become available), including a desk where my PASSPORT was/and still is being stored.

Next week I start a new job working for a kindergarten in Daejeon and I'm supposed to go with the director to immigration today or tomorrow. I have an F-2 visa, but I'm still supposed to get permission to work from immigration to make everything totally legal.

I'm not sure if I should go to immigration with all the other stuff I need, prepared to explain my sob story about how I'm an idiot, etc., or if I should suggest to my new employer that I work illegally until next month and then we can go to immigration once the passport is out of storage. Getting it out of storage before January 31st is NOT an option.

The fact is, I can't be deported for working illegally even if I am caught -- but I believe that I and the kindergarten can be fined.... Should I suggest that in the unlikely event that I'm caught teaching illegally that I will bear the brunt of the fines, since it is my mistake?

Any thoughts, anyone????

Thank you!

[Daechidong Waygookin]

You can be fined thats for sure. Deportation isnt a threat as long as your visa is valid, but you may have hassles when renewing a year later. They probably wouldnt deny you an extension, but they can make your life uneasy to say the least.

[SuperHero]

[babtangee]

You'll just have to tell your director what you've gone and done... your a girl, he should understand

Then see what he suggests...

That's what I'd do, anyway - before I went to immigration with him and potentially gave him a headache he wasn't prepared for.

Good luck!

[JongnoGuru]

If nothing else, Casey's Moon has given us all a splendid recipe for cooking goose.

My own Intervarsity Championship Passport-Misplacing trophies speak for themselves, but I did manage to track the blasted thing down before the whistle blew in each competition.

Your situation is wholly unfamiliar to me, as you know precisely where it is, but you can't get to it. As this isn't an abstract theoretical conundrum but a practical, real-life urgency, might you be a bit hasty in ruling out the option of retrieving it? I mean, where are your belongings being stored that retrieving the most vital document any foreigner possesses -- and (by law?) must have easy access to at all times -- is not an option? On the Planet Neptune? In a time-locked vault rigged with explosives?

I don't mean to make light of your predicament, which frankly I would be losing a bit of sleep over, whether or not I had any immediate need for my passport. Few here expect an outbreak of hostilities, and nobody likes to dwell on the likelihood or the scenarios. But should the kimchee ever hit the fan, I'll happily kiss EVERYthing I own goodbye save for my passport.

Why won't the moving/storage company let you retrieve it? If it were some medication that you needed to take regularly and couldn't readily find in Korea, or a stash of cash earmarked for the deposit on your new home, I can't imagine they'd refuse. So it would seem not a physical impossibility, but simply a matter of them not wanting the additional aggro, in which case pay them a little extra. Still no go?

I am entirely out of my depth in assaying how a Korean employer or Korean Immigration are likely to react. Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't get a warm, fuzzy feeling broadcasting to immigration or any authorities (in any country) that I've accidentally turned myself into an undocumented alien. (Yeah, I know. I enjoy a life of uninterrupted paranoia, conspiracy theories, and always expecting the worst. But what can you do? )

How about not start the job until you get your passport? How about let the school use a substitute until you have your paperwork & permissions in order? Or how about teaching a few weeks ostensibly "for free" (that is, you're not on the records), and have the school compensate you for that time via a bonus somewhere down the line? (Okay, maybe there isn't a single Korean employer anywhere that warrants such foolishly misplaced trust, but as I said, I'm out of my depth here, so cut me some slack, you Korea-bashers out there.)

Still, I'd direct my time and energy exploring ways to get my passport back before the end of the month.

Good luck and Happy Roosters

The Guru

[Daechidong Waygookin]

What kind of stupid storage system is this anyway? When I put things in storage I had a key and I could access my stuff any time. If someone tried to stop me Id laugh in their face and proceed about my business. Get your passport.

[casey's moon]

Hey, responses! Thank you very much for your advice and for not calling me the fool that I am or saying: "you should carry your passport on your person at all times," with which I would have responded that having a passport in storage is infinitely better than having a passport left behind on a city bus (yep, been there ). I'm not really a moron per se, but I've done some idiotic things in this country -- don't get me started...

[JongnoGuru]

[Daechidong Waygookin]

When in doubt, always report. We dont want no illegals runnin round, now do we? HUH? HUH?

[casey's moon]

[casey's moon]

[JongnoGuru]

[casey's moon]