The U.S. Department of State put a temporary pause on interviews and appointments for J, F and M visa applicants on May 27. It includes those applying for the J1 Exchange Visitor Program for teachers.
The Utah State Board of Education says this delay “directly threatens Utah’s nationally recognized Dual Language Immersion program by preventing Exchange Visitor Program educators from getting their visa appointments.”
Sharon Turner with the state board said delays could leave students and schools without the qualified teachers they are counting on.
“Certain teachers have already secured employment or contracts but are unable to obtain their visa or get an appointment at the embassy to secure the visa,” she said.
Around 50 teachers come to Utah as part of the Exchange Visitor program each year. Currently, 11 can’t proceed with their visa process. Turner said this is nerve-wracking for school principals as they don’t know whether they will have a teacher for a classroom in the fall.
The state board sent a letter to the Utah Congressional Delegation last week, requesting it call on the federal department to resume J1 visa interview scheduling for K-12 educators.
The Park City School District offers dual language immersion programs in Spanish and French. The district told KPCW in a statement it is "optimistic" and doesn’t anticipate the J1 visa pause to impact its programs.
Wasatch County School District also has a Spanish language immersion program. It wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday whether those programs would be affected.
