An American Federation of Teachers (AFT) report (PDF) found that some U.S. school districts have looked overseas to staff positions in schools that they find difficult to fill. As reported by the New York Times, the AFT report, based on government data, estimated that 19,000 foreign teachers worked in the U.S. on temporary visas in 2007.

To secure positions, foreign teachers have used recruiting firms, sometimes paying recruiters between $5,000 and $8,000, in addition to other costs which they bear personally. Many are placed in inner-city or very rural schools to teach math, science and special education. According to the report, Maryland, New York, Georgia, Texas and California attract the highest number of foreign teacher visa applicants.

Although the AFT report was critical of districts recruiting foreign teachers, school administrators found that these individuals improved schools. Moreover, administrators noted that programs like Teach for America are providing an employee pool from which to draw qualified applicants to teach in needed schools, thereby reducing the need to employ foreign teachers.