Friday, February 29, 2008

reste avec nous

My boss apparently wants me to stay longer. I found this out through my supervisor. The sentiment was touching... until I discovered the reason for it: I'm leaving in the middle of the spring term (not to be helped: I came to Smoo in the middle of a spring term in 2005, so my contract has always had an April-to-April validity period), and the office would rather I taught through the entire term. I imagine that a changeover is something of an admin nightmare for them. I wouldn't say "no" if an extension were possible, but when I tried to extend my visa back in 1995, the immigration office made it clear that visa extensions could not be made for anything other than personal reasons (e.g., needing time to pack and move out). One is not allowed to teach during the extension. Ah, well.


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6 comments:

Jelly said...

Hi Kevin!
You may want to double check on the extension thingie. There may have been some changes since 1995. I've always renewed my visa, but I know that the guy before me had his extended for a few months.
Then again, he may have renewed for a year and just got released early. Maybe there's a difference between E-1 and E-2's. Maybe your uni admin can grease a few palms and make it happen.
I guess what I'm trying to say is "DON'T LEAVE ME, MAN!!!"

Anonymous said...

Honestly? I think you need to get out of here ASAP, get your walk done, and then get your butt back here. No sense putting it off any longer.

Kevin Kim said...

Jelly,

After some discussion amongst themselves, my supervisors were also convinced that I probably wouldn't be able to teach on an extension, especially as a US citizen (rules might be different for citizens of other countries). You're right, though; this does need to be confirmed.

Charles,

The plan hasn't changed; I'm still shipping out around the April 25 mark. I need to purchase my ticket this week or next. The contract's ending date is the 24th, but the law gives me a short grace period before I absolutely must bugger off.

You're moving this weekend, yeah? Need some help with boxes and the like?


Kevin

Sean said...

Get a new contract for a whatever period you need to complete the semester. go to immigration get visa, done.

I know several people who have done this. don't you have an F4 visa? then you have even less to worry about.

Kevin Kim said...

EFL Geek,

Are you sure this applies to US citizens? I tried to get an extension to teach in 1995 and was flatly denied. Has the law changed?

Not that it's going to matter in my case: I'm set to go home around April 25.


Kevin

Anonymous said...

As a matter of fact, we're moving tomorrow morning, early. I appreciate the offer of help, but we actually have relatively little to move (although if you've got nothing in particular to do tomorrow and want to drop by to see our place, give me a call). I imagine I'll post something tomorrow (if we get our internet set up properly) with the details.

I should also email you at some point. Now that I'll be in Seoul, it should be easier to get together for some cooking before you leave.