Teach USA is a cultural exchange program that brings international teachers and U.S. schools together. While teachers find a chance for teaching and immerse themselves in the American lifestyle for up to 5 years, U.S. schools enjoy great benefits of diversified education with qualified international teachers in the classrooms.
Teachers can work full-time at a U.S. K-12 school with the same salary scale as U.S. teachers for up to 5 years.
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GEC has a global network and a dedicated team to find the best international teachers that bring cultural exchange to your classrooms.
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J1 is the type of visa used for cultural exchange programs. ‘Teacher’ is one of the 14 categories of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program. The Teach USA program allows qualified foreign nationals to teach full-time in accredited public and private U.S. primary and secondary schools (K12) for up to 3 years. After this period, teachers may be eligible for a 12 or 24-month program extension. Recipients of a J-1 visa can remain in the U.S. for the duration of their program, plus they may arrive 30 days prior and depart 30 days after the program ends.
Teachers MUST;
No. You may apply to the Teach USA program as long as you are eligible.
GEC does not charge teachers a sponsorship (program) fee or a placement fee to participate in our program. However, there are some direct costs associated with the visa application process that you will be responsible for. Also, depending on the specific details of your individual program participation, there may be other costs involved.
| Program (Sponsoring) fee | $ 0,00 | GEC will not charge you a program fee. |
|---|---|---|
| Job placement | $ 0,00 | GEC will not charge you a job placement fee |
| Health Insurance | $ 0,00 | GEC provides program participants with medical insurance coverage exceeding the minimum benefits required by the regulations. |
| SEVIS fee | $ 0,00 | GEC will not charge you a SEVIS fee. |
| 3rd party partner fees (agents) | $ 0,00 | GEC agents will not charge you a service fee. |
| Visa processing fee | $ 160 | Paid to the U.S. Embassy. This fee applies to all J-1 and J-2 visa applicants |
|---|---|---|
| Collection of documents. | $ 250 – $ 525 | You may incur some personal costs to your collection of documents necessary to prove eligibility for a J-1 visa including credential evaluations ($150-$275), criminal background checks, and translations. |
| Airfare to and from the U.S. | $ 500 – $ 1000 | Ask your local travel agent for the best value flight tickets. |
| J-2 Dependent Application (OPTIONAL) |
$ 750 / per year | If you wish your dependents to stay in the USA during your program, you will need to ask GEC for a J-2 dependent visa service. Includes assessment of all accompanying J-2 Dependent applications for an approval decision by GEC. An unlimited number of J-2 applications in association with the J1 exchange visitor is covered under this fee.
*** Any J-2 dependents with you in the U.S. are also required to have adequate health insurance. |
As a program regulation, all exchange visitor teachers are paid on the same salary scale as U.S. teachers. Depending on education, prior teaching experience, location, policies of the district and kind of school to teach, the average annual salary of GEC teachers ranges between $38.000 and $ 60.000.
Please consider the following information as a tool to help you estimate monthly costs for a single J-1 Visa Holder while in the United States of America. These monthly expenses are approximate only and costs will probably increase based on your location, life style and family size. Living in a big city is generally more expensive than living in a smaller rural community.
MONTHLY COST ESTIMATES
| Cost | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| HOUSING Housing costs are based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s fair market rents, which represent rental costs (shelter rent plus utilities) at the 40th percentile in a given area for privately owned, structurally safe, and sanitary rental housing of a modest nature with suitable amenities. Studio apartments were used for one-adult families. |
$621 | $1000 |
| FOOD Food costs are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s national “low-cost” food plan and adjusted to each area using multipliers from Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap data. The low-cost plan is the second-least-expensive of the four Official USDA Food Plans and assumes almost all food is bought at the grocery store and then prepared at home. The USDA food plans represent the amount families need to spend to achieve nutritionally adequate diets. |
$259 | $292 |
| TRANSPORTATION Transportation expenses are a combination of the costs of auto ownership, auto use, and transit use. Transportation cost data were provided by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT). CNT created a modified version of transportation costs from its Housing and Transportation Affordability Index to account for differences in family types in the Family Budget Calculator. |
$755 | $893 |
| HEALTH CARE Health care expenses include insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and assume families purchase the lowest cost bronze plans on the health insurance exchange established under the Affordable Care Act. Data on premiums come from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Out-of-pocket medical costs are calculated from HHS’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. |
$290 | $455 |
| OTHER NECESSITIES Other necessities include apparel, personal care, household supplies (which include items ranging from furnishings to cleaning supplies to phone service), reading materials, and school supplies. The costs for these items come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, and use data reported for households in the second (from the bottom) fifth of households in the household income distribution. |
$322 | $469 |
The Family Budget Calculator l provided by the Economic Policy Institute is a very useful tool for calculating living budgets in the U.S. based on various scenarios such as location and number of family members.
GEC can sponsor teachers in public schools in a variety of states across the United States. If you have a job offer, you can begin your application with an eligibility verification form that will help you determine if you are eligible and GEC can place teachers in the state where you want to teach. To start an application, please click any APPLY button at https://gecexchanges.com/teach-usa/for-teachers/
GEC will assist you to arrange a temporary housing close to your host school until you are settled. For a permanent housing most teachers prefer renting or sharing an apartment. Teachers are responsible for housing costs for the duration of their time in the United States.