All application documents must be in English. If not, it must be translated by an official translator. All translated documents must be an exact translation of the original document and they must be dated and signed. You must combine and upload both the original document and translated copies into your MyGEC record.
Documents that are translated by friends, family members, teachers, etc. will not be accepted.
MyGEC DOCUMENT CHECKLIST
1. Passport Size Photo
- Color headshot photo of your facial profile exactly like a passport photo
2. Copy of Passport
- Your passport must be valid for at least 1 year at the time of application.
We strongly recommend a passport with at least 3 years validity at the time of visa application date.
3. Proof of Employment Letter (s)
- Letter(s) from your current/ most recent school employer(s) confirming that you have at least 2 years teaching experience as the lead teacher or teacher of record in a primary or secondary school outside of the U.S. Assistant or student teaching, substitution, or tutoring is not eligible.
- If you worked at more than one position in the last 2 years, you will need to submit a letter from both schools of employment.
4. Letter of Recommendation – from a fellow teacher
This letter from co-teacher or other professional source attesting to your good reputation, character and teaching skills. Cannot be a friend or family member.
- Must be on a school letterhead OR the referee’s business card must be attached.
- Must include the author’s name, title, contact details, and ink signature.
- Must include your full first and last name.
- Must be dated and must be no older than 12 months from application.
5. Letter of Recommendation – from a supervisor
- The letter should be written by the current or former supervisor attesting to your good reputation, character and teaching skills.
6. Cultural Exchange Support Letter
- This letter states a school’s willingness to work with you on a virtual or written crosscultural activity during the exchange program. This is NOT a recommendation letter.
7. Police Clearance Certificate
- This certificate indicates you are free from criminal record in your home country.
- This certificate must be issued by a local police agency or with an accredited provider
- The certificate must be no older than 6 months at the time of application.
- If you’re working in another country at the time of application, you must obtain the police clearance certificate of that country of residence.
- This can be in any language. However, your host school may request this to be officially translated upon arrival. Official translation will incur additional costs.
8. University Diploma
- Upload a color scan of your bachelor’s or master’s degree in education.
9. Academic Transcript
- Upload an official academic transcript of your degrees on education
10. Foreign Credential Evaluation (FCE)
This document is required to prove your degree in your home country is equavalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree. You MUST provide this document unless you have a bachelor’s or master’s degree from an accredited U.S. college.
How to Purchase your FCE
- You must purchase an evaluation from one of the NACES (National Association of Credential Services) member organizations. Please follow this link to view approved agencies. www.naces.org/members
Your FCE will NOT be accepted if the agency does not appear on this list.
COST: The required evaluation may cost $150-$300 USD depending on the agency and coursework.
- You need to get a complete “Course by Course” credential evaluation report for professional U.S. licensure.
- You will be asked to submit your official transcripts, diplomas, and supporting documents to
be evaluated.
- These credential evaluation companies are widely preferred by exchange teachers : ECE, WES, SPANTRAN Note: SPANTRAN is accepted in most states, but NOT California.
- If you are required to select a state and you don’t know which state you will teach at, you may select any state.
- If the FCE organization requires you to provide an email address to deliver your FCE, you may give them [email protected]
- Please DO NOT mail the original hardcopy to the GEC office. You should just upload a soft copy (scanned document) to your MyGEC account.
Things to know
- A Foreign Credential Evaluation is REQUIRED. This is nonnegotiable as this is a visa requirement as well as a requirement for U.S. state teaching licensure
- If you have more than one educational degree (e.g., a master’s or doctorate), we recommend that you have them both evaluated, as you will likely need them for U.S. teacher licensure
- The evaluation agency may request verification from your university. Be sure to follow up with your university if there is a delay in verification.
- Although GEC accepts reports from all NACES member companies, some states may be selective and not recognize credential evaluation reports from all companies. You may be required to purchase another report in the USA at your own cost
- Credential evaluation reports do not expire and will be valid forever
- Processing for your Foreign Credential Evaluation can take many weeks (estimated 6-10 weeks).
11. Home Country Teaching License / ID
This must show that you are certified to teach in your home country.
GEC can accept the following:
- Teaching certificate or license
- an employee ID from your school
If you do not have one of the above, GEC can accept
- Diploma containing statement of certification
- Employment record from authorizing source (Ministry of Ed, school district, etc.)
12. Professional Resume
- Please submit your current resume with a picture.
13-15. Signed Agreement Forms
These forms list and describe our expectations for participants as well as anticipated costs. You
will download them from MyGEC, our tracking platform, and sign them.
- Participant Agreement
- Statement of Financial Understanding
- Fee Transparency Agreement
16. Self- Introduction Video
- Create a friendly video to introduce yourself and speak about your motivation to participate in the TeachUSA program. Schools will view this video when making hiring decisions. This is your opportunity to make your application stand out!
- Any device with a camera will work to film your video.
- Please upload your video on the internet (YouTube etc.) and share its link at MyGEC. Do not try to upload a video file to MyGEC.
- Look professional. Dress as you would for a job interview.
- A Positive and friendly mood is very important.
- Do not read directly from a script. Show your personality.
- Keep it brief! No longer than 3 minutes.
- Avoid background untidiness and audio.
- Please check the privacy settings of your video link and make sure that everyone who has the link can see the content. We will be unable to view it otherwise.
Please click here to download the “Required Application Documents” in PDF format.