For teachers from the Philippines, getting hired to work in Alaska is only the first step

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3 days ago

Julieth Tapado has met with recruiters each time Kodiak Island Borough School District held a screening event in Manila. (Photo by Brian Venua/KMXT)
Alaska school districts are ramping up international hiring. For some, that means sending their own recruiters to the Philippines. In Part 2 of this five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska, KMXT's Brian Venua reports that the process can be pretty complicated, and it's only getting more stressful.
Julieth Tapado was one of hundreds of teachers waiting for the chance to impress recruiters from Alaska school districts earlier this year. She drove about an hour from Cavite City to the recruiting event in Manila, then waited even longer to get in. She said Alaska was at the top of her list — she hadn't applied anywhere else in the U.S.
'I'm curious and excited to work in Alaska because I believe the tradition and the culture is still not like other states,' Tapado said. She said she's heard the people are more genuine in places like Kodiak.
This is Tapado's third attempt to get a job in Alaska. She has friends and family that have been successful in Alaska, and she wants to join them.
'There are a lot of school districts looking, so I might be one of those blessed aspirants!' she said.
Serjoe Gutierrez has taught in Kodiak for the last three years. Now he also helps Alaska districts fill vacancies with teachers from his home country.
'This is the start of your dreams,' he told Tapado and 120 of her peers at the start of the event. They were the first of six groups about that size that the recruiters would meet on their 2025 recruiting trip. The administrators asked candidates about classroom management and how they connect with families. They were also looking for skills like English fluency and the ability to respond to questions quickly.
Each candidate had less than 10 minutes with recruiters. They could earn more time through a callback, but less than a third were asked for one.
That's where the process shifts to the bureaucracy around immigration.
'You need to go through (the) Visa Application Center, get your biometrics, get your pictures done,' Gutierrez said to the crowd of applicants. 'And once you're done, you need to schedule a U.S. Embassy interview.'
Teachers also have to pay hundreds of dollars in application fees to the U.S. embassy and work with the Philippine government's Department of Migrant Workers and its licensed agencies.
After arriving in the U.S., but before starting in classrooms, new teachers have to file for teacher certification and Social Security numbers.
All of the paperwork gets pretty complicated.
That's why at least seven Alaska districts, including Kodiak's, work with immigration lawyer Russell Ford. Ford, of FordMurry Law, is based in Maine but has public school districts and private schools across the country as clients.
He helped his Alaska clients figure out which visa was most appropriate.
'When we met them, most of their teachers were on J1,' Ford said.
J1 visas are supposed to promote international cultural exchange. They allow foreign nationals to live and work in the United States for three years and can be extended up to five years.
A former J1 visa holder can reapply after returning to their home country for two years. In the past, many Alaska school districts hired from abroad through third-party recruiting agencies that used J1 visas.
Now that administrators are recruiting directly with Ford's help, many have shifted to using H1B visas. Those are designed for high-skill jobs like teachers and allow for longer careers in the U.S.
'If everything is working out, then there's the possibility of sponsorship for permanent residence or a green card,' Ford said.
That opens the door for districts and communities to build long-term relationships with international hires.
Neil Frank Rivera Ferrer is the Philippines' consulate general in San Francisco and provides immigration services for Philippine nationals across 10 states, including Alaska. He said switching to the H1B visa is the right call.
'We would prefer if those that are coming to Alaska and coming to the U.S. in general, for work purposes, should get a work visa – the H1B visa instead of a J1 visa, which is really more of a temporary, cultural, short term visit to the U.S.,' Ferrer said.
But U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services issues a limited number of H1B visas each year. And President Donald Trump's administration has sworn to deport millions of illegal immigrants. Some legal immigrants have been caught in his crosshairs, too.
Ford said that's left his clients with more uncertainty about living in the U.S..
'I'm having conversations that are a little tougher – it's about people's fears,' Ford said. 'It's about – 'Can I go home? Should I go home? Can I travel? Do people want me here?' So I'm doing more counseling, and not from a legal sense, but just having someone to talk to.'
Ford said H1B applications have had a few more delays than before, but he's trying to run business as usual. He just makes sure to remind clients to be extra careful to follow the law and avoid attracting negative attention.
At least one Filipino migrant in Kodiak was arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, in April. Elsewhere, ICE has deported legal Filipino immigrants.
But for candidates like Julieth Tapado at the recruiting event in Manila, the work is worth it. This wasn't her year — again — but she's already planning to try again next year.
'I'm still hoping that somehow, in God's time, in God's beautiful time, I could be able to achieve my dream working in Alaska as an English teacher,' Tapado said.
This story was originally published by KMXT, as part two of a five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska.