Is this non-profit employment?

Dear All,

My prospective employer wants to hire me (a teacher) for his private education. Since this would not create him any wealth, can this be considered "non-profit" even though it's not an organisation? The point of my question is that non-profit positions are "non-cap", which means I could apply for this visa any time.

I could not find information on employer who were "sole proprietors", only organisations.

Thank you very much for your time!

I'm not an expert, but I think it's not going to work unless the employer makes a bona fide effort to hire a US citizen or permanent resident for the position. Try asking here

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=34

Dear Marco,

Thank you very much for your swift reply. You have a point, but I think for that kind of work, you can hire a foreign national even if there are US workers for the job, though I am not sure at all. The thing is, since in education people have very different backgrounds, a foreign national may have qualifications that few, if any, US worker would have.

In my case, I'm a native speaker of French with degrees in both this language and English; I suspect that this quality alone should be enough to justify my hiring as a private teacher, what do you think?

(I haven't checked your link yet, but I will! Thank you very much!)

I'm checking into your link, very interesting! I found this thread:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthre ... ht=non-cap

in which someone got that type of non-cap visa as a soccer coach in a club for kids. That's non-profit alright, but I assume they could have found another soccer coach in the US, right? So, in my case, I'm even more qualified, perhaps, than this soccer coach (although he has heavy experience and credentials. So maybe no other coach available was this qualified, but in that case, I too have special qualifications. I don't expect there will be many Americans in the state I'll go to who are native speakers of French with degrees in English and French, and who are willing to teach. I hope.

Also, I can teach linguistics, which my prospective employer is interested in, and which is massively useful to teaching languages in general.

But really my main question is whether an individual can hire me on a non-cap visa. Technically, I don't see why not, but nothing explicitly deals with my case.

It is non-profit, it will benefit the American community, it will not create wealth, it's not a business, it's purely educational; the only thing is that my prospective employer is not an organisation onto himself. Does it make a big difference or not?

ForgetfulRainn wrote:I don't expect there will be many Americans in the state I'll go to who are native speakers of French with degrees in English and French, and who are willing to teach. I hope.

That changes the situation a lot (in your favour). Have you considered the possibility of applying for a job as a French teacher at a local university? All universities in the US have foreign language classes, and I'm sure French is a popular option. Also, most universities are not subject to the cap and they know how to sponsor people for H1B visas.

Yes, originally, that's what I was going for, except that English really is my main branch, and I'd rather teach that than French, although I can function in at least 3 branches: English, French, and linguistics, which should give me some added value.

The problem is that I don't have a doctorate yet, and many universities will only consider you if you have that.

That said, it's not true of all unis, and it's still an option I consider. Thank you very much for you replies, I truly appreciate!

ForgetfulRainn wrote:Yes, originally, that's what I was going for, except that English really is my main branch, and I'd rather teach that than French, although I can function in at least 3 branches: English, French, and linguistics, which should give me some added value.

The problem is that there's no shortage of English teachers in the US, so it would be much harder for a US employer to hire a foreigner in this position.

ForgetfulRainn wrote:The problem is that I don't have a doctorate yet, and many universities will only consider you if you have that.

The standards for being a foreign language teacher are not very high. It's not the same as being a university lecturer. In the late 1990's I knew an Italian guy who was teaching Italian at a US university on an H1B visa, and his only qualification was an Italian law degree.

The point of an H1B visa is that it's difficult for the employer to hire a US citizen or PR in that position. There being very few USC's/PR's who are native French speakers, if a US university offers you a job as a French teacher you are probably guaranteed a visa.

Another thing you should consider is the path to a green card. It's possible that you may have problems with this as a language teacher. Probably better to speak to an immigration attorney, or at least post in the other forum.

Is your degree in English, a degree in the language itself or in literature. For example, I have a BA in English, but the degree is really literature based, though I did take a few linguistic classes. If you have at least a masters in English, literature based, there would be universities willing to hire you as a lecture to teach some lower leverl undergradauate courses in both literature and French. The uni I graduated from defintely needs a decent French lecturer.

Just a thought. Also, if you were really interested in becoming a professor in the states, you could go as a student for a PhD there. They offer quite a bit of money to students, plus you gain teaching experience. I know it's a committment, but if that is what you are interested in and want to stay in the States, it's worth looking into. My Spanish professor is from Spain. He completed his undergraduate degree in Spanish and English and then went to the US for is PhD. He had no probelm getting a job after that. However, he teaches Spanish and Spanish literature.

IN your current situtation, your best bet would be to contact someone at the embassy or an immigration lawyer. That is probably the only way to get any anwers.

Best of luck.

Dear Whoever,

I thank you very much for your reply!

My degrees are in literature, but my university is heavy on linguistics and I had to follow a lot of linguistic classes, as well as the history of the English language, which enables me to explain why and how English functions, linguistically speaking, and that's most useful when you teach it to people as a language. I can teach these languages as literature and as languages proper.

I don't exactly have my MA's yet, I have my thesis to finish, but everything else is done already. I passed all my exams with success, so the hardest stuff is behind me at this point.

Your message cheers me up quite a bit. I would absolutely go into that direction.

Thank you!

PS: what uni did you graduate from? Out of curiosity...

I would have thought that 'non-profit' had to be registered charities, think tanks or bona-fide NGOs? Otherwise anything/anyone can be non profit in order to help someone obtain a visa. It seems to me that your employment is as a private tutor, which would require a very different type of visa?

I graduated from a small university in a rural area (thought you are about 3-4 hours from the mountains, and 1-2 hours from a variety of beaches, as well as the capital city) in North Carolina, but I know there are lots of universities/colleges looking. You could even look into teaching at a community college. Obviously, have a PhD would make things easier in terms of immigration.

If you were going to for the immigrant visa, and E1 (Employment First Preference), you would have to have 3 years in teaching or research. This work permit is processed the fastest. If you were to pursue a PhD in the US, you would gain the relevant experience as a student as part of a graduate assistantship by the teaching requirements.

However, the H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that does allow one to apply for an immigrant visa without any implications. So, if you could find a college/university to hire you as a lecturer, they could apply for the H-1B. In the mean time, you would be gaining experience that should qualify you to switch to the E-1. Also, if you are from a country that qualifies, you could apply to the Diversity Lottery every year in hopes of receiving a Green Card that way.

You could also look into the J-1 (Exchange Visitor), which I know is temporary, but it would be quick solution. They have an exchange program, a trainee/internship program, as well as summer one for college students/recent graduates. You may be able to obtain one and find a teaching position for the summer. If all went well, there may be a way for you to get sponsored by the university/college.

Those seem to be your options. I have also sent you a pm with my university as well as other info.

Dear Sakura,

I am looking into this business of a tutoring visa; so far I never encountered anything about that, but I'll tell you later what I find.

Dear Whoever,

Thanks again for your post! I actually contact a community college and I would have been interviewed had they had any need of one extra teacher.

Given the opportunity, I would definitey get on a Ph.D program and work as a teacher at the same university.

As to E1, though, I think this is really for the hot shot academics. You need experience, but also international recognition and what not. So lecturer would be the best deal so far, unless I find a solution to that private teacher thing.

Thank you!

Dear Sakura,

I could not find any visa specially fitted for private tutoring. Therefore, I can only go for an H1B, because that is the only type of visa that fits my qualifications. The question now is whether or not an individual can employ me.

iamwhoever wrote:If you were going to for the immigrant visa, and E1 (Employment First Preference), you would have to have 3 years in teaching or research. This work permit is processed the fastest.

E1 is not a visa, it's an employment based green card (there is a visa called E1, but it's something different). The OP would need to qualify for a work visa (H1B) and then his employer should sponsor him for a green card (most likely E3).

Marco 72 wrote:

iamwhoever wrote:If you were going to for the immigrant visa, and E1 (Employment First Preference), you would have to have 3 years in teaching or research. This work permit is processed the fastest.

E1 is not a visa, it's an employment based green card (there is a visa called E1, but it's something different). The OP would need to qualify for a work visa (H1B) and then his employer should sponsor him for a green card (most likely E3).

There is nothing that states you have to be in the US on a H-1B before applying for an immigrant visa for a work permit. However, if you do not qualify for the E1 or E2, then yeah, it would be easiest to apply for this after you are in the US on a H-1B (a non-immigrant visa).

I understand what you are saying, but I did state that the E1 I was referring to "Employment First Preference" Also, the U.S. Department of State website refers to the E1 (Employment First Preference), E2 (Employment Second Preference), E3 (Employment Third Preference), and so as Employment-Based Visas under immigration visas.

Regards.