For many school districts across Illinois, teachers from thousands of miles away have become a staple, helping to keep classrooms staffed.

But the future of programs allowing visiting international teachers to work in the U.S. is uncertain due to current federal immigration policies.

Immigration changes introduced last year by the Trump administration are anticipated to cause some issues for visiting international teachers and the schools that rely on them.

About 87% of Illinois schools reported a teacher shortage, according to the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools’ 2024-2025 Educator Shortage Survey. About 80% of schools expect their teacher needs will grow over the next five years.

Educators come to the U.S. on two types of visas: an H-1B visa, which requires an employer to sponsor an individual, or a J-1 Exchange Visitor visa, which allows for shorter stays.

In September 2025, President Donald Trump unveiled a plan requiring employers to pay a $100,000 fee for a new H-1B visa.

In the announcement, Trump called out high-paying tech jobs that he said were filled by too many foreign workers, according to NPR. However, the potential impact is on schools as well, with more than 20,000 educators in the U.S. on H-1B visas, NPR reported.

DeKalb School District 428, for example, hosts visiting international teachers using both J-1 visas and H-1B visas.

The DeKalb district has been participating in the J-1 Exchange program through the Illinois State Board of Education for five years, but it also began hosting H-1B candidates three years ago.

“Knowing that our [staffing] needs were greater, that’s when we moved to the H-1B process,” said Deetra Sallis, District 428 human resources director.

The initial H-1B visa is granted for up to three years and can be extended to a maximum of six. H-1B holders are allowed to apply for permanent residency while working on the temporary visa.

J-1 Exchange teachers are authorized to teach for up to three years, with the option to apply for a two-year extension with federal approval.

Participants are expected to return to their home country at the conclusion of their program, as the J-1 visa is not a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship.

Presently, the DeKalb district has seven J-1 visa candidates, three J-2 visa candidates (spouses of J-1 Exchange visitors), and seven H-1B visa candidates.

DeKalb hosts teachers from Spain, Brazil and Colombia, and is in the process of hosting a teacher from the Philippines.

“It really is a good experience because what does happen is true cultural exchange,” Sallis said. “Those teachers are sharing with students what it’s like to come from another country.”

District 428 initially recruited international teachers for its dual language program, but they’ve also helped to fill broader staffing needs.

Most are bilingual or English as a second language teachers; one is teaching special education, and another is slated to teach high school science.

“We have Spanish-speaking families and students whose needs go beyond the classroom,” Sallis said. “... Yes, we do need somebody who can speak the language, but if we have somebody with that cultural background, that helps as well.”

Rita Elliot, District 428 communications manager, added that it has been beneficial to show students different cultural perspectives.

“We have a really diverse population here, so it’s been a valuable thing to have [students] also exposed to people from other countries,” Elliot said. “It’s just overall such a rich experience for both the candidates and the teachers here, and our students.”

Sallis said the district works with its attorneys to ensure it is following federal policies and regulations regarding visas.

“We are committed to them to whatever extent of the visa they are on, pending it becoming unaffordable for us,” she said. “Then we would have to, at that point, have a different conversation.”

It is difficult to predict what impact federal policy shifts may have on the teachers, Sallis said. They all have unique stories, with some in the U.S. solely for the employment opportunity, some here to be with spouses and others pursuing education.

“I think we do a good job, and everybody wants to stay, but they also know the agreement for the visa for which they are under, so they have to abide by that,” Sallis said.

All visiting international teachers through the ISBE participate through the federal J-1 Exchange Visitor visa program, ISBE spokeswoman Lindsay Record said. Currently, 302 teachers are participating in ISBE’s Visiting International Teacher program.

Record said ISBE’s visiting international teachers program has not seen direct changes as a result of recent federal immigration enforcement actions.

Participation in the visiting international teachers program has fluctuated in recent years, she said.

While the number of new teachers varies from year to year, ISBE has observed a lower anticipated rate of extension requests for the upcoming school year.

“ISBE cannot attribute those decisions to any single factor and will continue to monitor participation trends closely,” Record said.

In Kankakee School District 111, the hiring of visiting international teachers began last school year through a partnership with We Dare To Teach, an organization that connects qualified international teachers with U.S. schools facing teacher shortages, particularly in special education.

Kankakee schools are hosting 29 visiting international teachers from countries including the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, Ghana and Guyana.

They are teaching at elementary and high school levels, with subject areas including special education, math, English and foreign language.

Kankakee Superintendent Teresa Lance said she is not concerned about the potential to have to pay higher visa fees because District 111’s teachers are already here.

The potential increased fee proposed by Trump would apply to new visas.

“We really want to try to recruit more locally and strengthen the teachers that we currently have in place, as opposed to bringing on more [international teachers],” Lance said.

The presence of visiting international teachers has been going over well, she said.

The hires helped fill vacancies as District 111 ramped up efforts to put certified teachers in every classroom, rather than having some roles filled by non-licensed instructors.

Lance said district administration meets with the visiting international teachers monthly to provide professional development and differentiated support.

“Let’s strengthen the cohort that we currently have, build as much of their capacity as we possibly can, with the hope that most, if not all of them, will want to remain beyond their visas, so if they can get an extension, they can get there,” she said.

Although there are no plans to recruit additional visiting international teachers for the 2026-27 school year, Lance said that having the option helps ensure there will be a licensed teacher in front of every student.

“If we were having a difficult time finding licensed, certified teachers, being able to recruit internationally provides options,” Lance said. “If the program went away, then it [takes] away that option.”

Woodstock School District 200 in McHenry County employs visiting international teachers from Spain and Latin American countries for its dual language program.

International teachers have helped meet staffing needs due to the program’s growing popularity, with about 43%, or 2,700 of the district’s K-12 students, now enrolled.

Kevin Lyons, District 200’s director of communication, said it can be difficult to find teachers with the proper certification to teach dual language courses.

It is particularly challenging to find bilingual teachers for science and special education.

However, the district hasn’t relied on international hires in recent years as much as it once did.

In general, one or two international teachers are hired each school year, Lyons said.

“As a district, we have some concerns, but we are not overly worried,” Lyons said of potential impacts from federal immigration policy changes.

Because the program has endured since 2004, District 200 has been able to hire about a dozen of its former dual language students as teachers.

International teachers have bolstered the district’s connections in Spain and other countries where it has active student exchange programs, Lyons said.

But while the district invests time training the teachers, there also is an understanding that the teachers can only stay three to five years.

“We would not pay tens of thousands of dollars for anyone’s visa, nor would it be likely that a potential international teacher would be able to afford such fees,” Lyons said. “There is certainly a benefit to allowing a pathway for skilled language teachers rather than creating impediments if we expect our students to be able to compete globally.”