CFO reminds Filipino teachers: J-1 US visa holders must return to PH

The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) on Thursday reminded that Filipino teachers on the J-1 visa or Exchange Visitor Program, which has been dangled and falsely depicted by illegal recruiters, should return to the Philippines upon completing their program.

The CFO issued the statement after a recent meeting with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the public school system in Chicago whose representatives spoke with government officials in Manila regarding Filipino teachers, the J-1 visa program, and global learning.

The statement emphasized the importance of adhering to the non-negotiable "two-year home-country physical presence requirement" of the visa category.

"The heart of the Exchange Visitor Program is the bridge it builds between nations, but for that bridge to remain functional, our beneficiaries must fulfill their obligation to bring those global skills back to the Philippines," said CFO chief Secretary Dante Ang II.

Christine Murphy-Johnson, who was part of the CPS contingent, emphasized that the visa program is not designed as a direct pathway to permanent migration, but for professional development and cultural immersion.

Used in scams

Earlier this month, the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC warned Filipino teachers seeking employment in the United States to carefully review the visas they were seeking to avoid being scammed by illegal recruiters.

It issued the warning amid reports of unscrupulous recruiters demanding large sums of money in exchange for promises of permanent residency or US citizenship through the J-1 visa. However, this does not have a pathway to permanent residency.

The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Education (DepEd) were also represented in the meeting with CFO and CPS. 

A key discussion area in the meeting was strengthening tracking and support for teachers returning to the Philippines, and how to integrate their learnings from Chicago.

Chicago is currently host to some 275 Filipino teachers out of its 350 international educators within the district.

'Brain gain'

According to the CFO, the J-1 visa program brings Filipino teachers in an exchange program that would lead to the integration of international educational practices to the Philippine system. 

Under the J-1 visa program, teachers must return to their home countries for up to two years and stay in the program for a maximum of five years. The rule sought to prevent "brain drain" and instead pave the way for "brain gain," promoting the integration of international practices learned in the program towards the Philippine educational system.

For its part, the CPS said the goal of the J-1 visa program is professional development and cultural immersion, ensuring support for teachers in Chicago. 

This includes mentoring and cultural orientation in high-demand fields such as special education, mathematics, and science.

According to CFO, the Philippines has been the top country sending out teachers under the J-1 visa category over the last decade, with the number of Filipino teacher deployments steadily increasing due to domestic teacher shortages in the United States.

In its advisory, the Philippine embassy emphasized the following terms of the program:

• J-1 teachers are required to return to the Philippines after completing the program
• Filipino teachers are covered by the two-year home-country physical presence requirement. According to the embassy, a waiver of this requirement is "difficult to obtain, not guaranteed, and requires exceptional hardship or highly meritorious circumstances."
• Overstaying in the United States beyond the authorized period of stay is a "serious violation of US immigration law" and may result in deportation and long-term bans.

— VDV, GMA Integrated News