At Indian Oasis Intermediate School in Sells, a fourth-grade teacher packs up his classroom after five years. His contract is ending not because he wants to leave, but because his visa requires it.
Cerelo Flores is one of 10 international teachers from the Baboquivari Unified School District — on the Tohono O’odham Nation — who have submitted resignation letters in advance of their program expiration. The Intermediate School will have lost 50% of its staff at the end of the academic year, according to Ruben Diaz, the superintendent of Baboquivari Unified School District.
Across Arizona, scenes like this are quietly repeating. As of the 2025 fiscal year, there were 444 teachers initially certified to teach on an International Teaching Certificate, according to data from the Arizona Department of Education. Nationally, 6,855 teachers hired from overseas were working at pre-K, primary or secondary schools in the United States during the 2024-25 academic year, according to Bridge USA, which oversees international work exchange programs through J-1 visas. Nearly 45% of them were hired from the Philippines.
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Hiring internationally used to be a simpler solution to a complex problem: teachers hired on these visas are paid comparable salaries to U.S.-based educators.
And such teachers are needed as the state faces a shortage of teachers overall. At least 8,523 educators exited Arizona public schools between the last two academic years. That’s a loss nearly three times greater than the number of new teachers certified to replace them.
Districts are already spending heavily to keep classrooms staffed, but the costs may soon climb further. Many areas have often relied on teachers recruited from overseas to fill vacancies, but changes to the H-1B visa process under President Donald Trump threaten this tenuous system.
International teachers are typically hired on one of two visas: the J-1, which has a base period of three years and can be extended up to five years; and the H-1B, which has a base of three years and can be extended up to six.
Both visas were good options for districts that were short on qualified professionals, and in the 2025 fiscal year, there were 444 international teaching certificates issued in Arizona. But on Sept. 19, 2025, Trump issued his proclamation “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” which required a $100,000 payment to be issued an H-1B visa.
Diaz said they began to turn to international teachers to fill gaps during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though even then he preferred the H-1B visas, he never insisted upon using them exclusively, a choice he now regrets.
“Unfortunately, with the J-1 visa, by the end of their serving term, they have to go back to the Philippines. And this is now the situation,” Diaz said.
“Now I don’t have $100,000 for every teacher that wants an H-1B.”
Districts can hire teachers applying for visas directly from overseas, or they can use certain staffing companies as an intermediary — hiring from a pool of candidates using these companies to facilitate the visa process.
On Aug. 11, 2025, Liberty Elementary School District approved an agreement with Teach in the USA LLC, a Michigan-based company that facilitates J-1 visa “Cultural Exchange Programs” and H-1B recruitment.
Cerelo Flores poses with a letter “B” in the school gymnasium in Sells, celebrating with students after Indian Oasis Intermediate Elementary School earned a “B” letter grade from the Arizona Department of Education in 2025. The school was previously rated a C and D campus based on standardized test results, yearly student progress, graduation rates and college or career readiness. Flores' contract as a fourth-grade teacher there is ending not because he wants to leave, but because his visa requires it.
For teachers on J-1 visas, the district will pay the teachers their salaries directly, and then pay additional fees to the staffing agency that can be as high as 25% more for some teachers. H-1B visas require a $5,000 payment, with an optional $2,500 per quarter for mentorship and professional development services. Those fees are in addition to the new $100,000 fee.
“We have hard to fill positions that are in need of qualified teachers in front of them and a charge that I take very seriously is that we want to put qualified people in front of them. No matter what. However that looks,” Trevor McDonald, then interim superintendent of Liberty Elementary School District, said in the board meeting where the agreement was approved.
The district did not comment on the former interim superintendent or the agreement with Teach in the USA in an email to The Beam, which worked with Cronkite New Service on this article.
“At this time, the District does not wish to respond to the questions,” wrote Erica Avila, acting assistant superintendent of Human Resources and Student Services.
McDonald said the costs of U.S. contracted teachers “usually come at a price tag of two-to-one,” making international teachers more broadly affordable.
Flores paid International LLC $6,400 for his three-year J-1 visa exchange program. The cost breakdown includes sponsor and application fees, embassy schedule assistance, travel expenses, U.S. teaching certification and assessment and review services.
“While this letter fulfills the formal requirements for staffing and recruitment, please know it [is] written with gratitude, reflection, and genuine hope for whatever the next chapter may bring,” Flores said in his resignation letter.
“I am not losing hope that one day, after the completion of my 212(e) residency requirement, I may have the opportunity to once again work alongside all of you and continue serving this remarkable school community.”
