Makara Cultural Exchange is applying to become a visa sponsor for the J-1 cultural exchange visa in the teacher category.
Exchange visitor teacher Program
The Exchange Visitor Program promotes mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries via educational and cultural exchanges. The program provides opportunities for around 300,000 foreign visitors from 200 countries and territories per year to experience U.S. society and culture and engage with Americans. The Exchange Visitor category is for people-to-people programs, which seek to develop and strengthen professional and personal ties between key foreign nationals and Americans and American institutions.
There are 14 categories of the J-1 Visa, and “teacher” is one of them. This cultural exchange visa is used to allow foreign teachers with at least two years of experience to teach in an accredited primary or secondary school in the United States for up to 36 months. Exchange teachers sharpen their professional skills and participate in cross-cultural activities in schools and communities, and they return to their home school after the exchange to share their experiences and increased knowledge of the United States and the U.S. educational system.
Our Mission
Makara Cultural Exchange (“Makara) is a women-owned not-for-profit established to enhance U.S. national security and promote peace through people-to-people exchange programming. In Hindu mythology, Makara – a half-terrestrial, half-aquatic creature – serves as the vehicle for the river goddess Ganga and as a guardian of gateways, symbolizing adaptability. Inspired by this ethos, Makara empowers individuals to transcend borders, discover shared values, and become conduits of mutual understanding.
Makara is passionate about the profound impact that cultural exchange programming can have in a school setting. A classroom teacher is one individual with the unique opportunity to influence the lives of dozens of children, those children’s parents and caregivers, as well as colleagues that in turn have their own impact on hundreds of children, with extended ripple effects into the broader community. The journey of building mutual understanding – one step, one shared interest, one spark of recognition at a time – is an experience that can change lives forever and that can be particularly significant at a young age.
We believe that the world is more interrelated and interconnected than ever, and as such its global citizens must have the ability to collaborate, communicate, and transcend boundaries. Makara’s mission is to equip K-12 students and educators with global knowledge, best practices, and resources that are necessary in a diverse and ever-changing world.
Program Prerequisites
The applicant cannot be a U.S. citizen;
The applicant must be fluent in English, as determined by an interview with Makara;
The applicant must have a minimum of two years (24 months) of full-time documented classroom teaching or related professional experience at K-12 schools outside of the U.S.;
The applicant must be working as a teacher in your home country or country of legal residence at the time of application, or, if not working as a teacher, otherwise meet the eligibility qualifications and (a) have recently (within 12 months of application) completed an advanced degree and (b) have two years of full-time teaching experience within the past eight years;
The applicant must meet the qualifications for teaching in primary or secondary schools in your country of nationality or last legal residence;
The applicant must have an academic background focused on education/teaching;
The applicant must have a degree-equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree in education (4 years of University after 12th grade or the equivalent of the end of high school);
The applicant must have credential evaluation from a NACES-approved agency and must satisfy the teaching standards of the U.S. state in which he or she will teach;
The applicant must be seeking to come to the U.S. for the purpose of teaching full-time and sharing their culture in an accredited primary or secondary school; and
The applicant must be of good reputation and character.
Duration of Program
It is extremely important to understand that the J-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa, which means that applicants must show ties to their home country. Makara Cultural Exchange will not issue any documents to individuals who are in the United States. He or she must leave the country to apply for a J-1 visa.
The Exchange Teacher is sponsored on a J-1 visa, which initially allows the teacher to spend a maximum of three years as a visiting faculty at a school in the US. The teacher will have a contract directly with the school district and must sign the Acceptance Letter & Agreement with Makara prior to joining the program. Once a teacher arrives in the U.S., she/he is responsible for teaching full-time at the school. Employment follows the local laws and regulations. The teacher is expected to work in the same district/school for the duration of their participation in the program in order to build community and experience the breadth of the cultural exchange program.
Home country physical presence requirement
An exchange visitor, and any accompanying spouse and dependents, who are within the purview of section 212(e) of the Immigration and National Act, as amended, or Public Law 94-484 (substantially quoted in 22 CFR 41.63), must reside and be physically present in the country of nationality or last legal permanent residence for an aggregate of at least two years following departure from the United States before the exchange visitor is eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent residence, a nonimmigrant K visa as the fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen, a non-immigrant H visa as a temporary worker or trainee, or a non-immigrant L visa as an intracompany transferee, or a non-immigrant H or L visa as the spouse or minor child of a person who has been granted status in H or L non-immigrant classification as a temporary worker or trainee or an intracompany transferee.
As part of Makara Cultural Exchange’s sponsorship, the participant and host school sign an agreement confirming that the participant does not intend to abandon his or her non-immigrant status.
J-2 Visa Sponsorship
Exchange Teachers may request sponsorship for their families through the J-2 visa. Makara will help sponsor a legal spouse and dependent children under 21 on J-2 visas as long as they have the appropriate insurance as detailed below, and as paid for by the J-1 visa holder. The U.S. consulate retains the right to deny a J-2 visa.
Please note that the J-1 visitor is responsible for covering the copays and premiums associated with insuring their dependents, and that dependents are required to be insured for their entire stay in the US.
Upon arrival, the sponsored spouse can apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD)/Work Permit with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It can take from 2-6 months to receive the EAD, during which time the spouse is not allowed to work.