Can I apply before graduating?

Hi everybody, my name is Roy. I plan to graduate on Dec. 12 of 2009, but I will probably not receive my diploma until late December or early January. Is it still possible for me to apply for a job before I receive my diploma? My major is English Education with ESOL endorsement.

if you graduate in december doesn't it usually take a bit longer to actually receive your piece of paper?

you could get a letter from your university to say you had "met the requirements of graduation".

you would have to provide the actual diploma to have your visa processed.

but of course you can start the ball rolling

Yes of course. @_@ I don' t know what job you're talking about applying for, but that's the norm anywhere isn't it?

Well, there are 2 asian studies majors at my little college who applied for JET, and they were both accepted like almost 2 months ago,

Grad commencement is this coming Sunday, if that's any indicator...

I guess you would mention on your application the expected date of graduation and whatnot.. I know a lot of grads do that for jet, and start immediately. So... yeah.

Thank you for your reply and sorry I should have been more specific. I was referring to English teaching jobs from Japan as an ALT teacher for the Eikaiwa or any school in particular. If possible I wanted to secure a job and obtain a visa before I graduate, but I don�ft know if I could obtain a visa without submitting the Japanese government a copy of my diploma. Will the Eikaiwa submit my visa application without my diploma? I�fm expecting to receive my diploma by December. Is it possible to give them an IOU and still receive a visa? I know the waiting time is long, so I just want to knock everything out of the way. Thank you guys for your comments, I really appreciate them.

You can apply for jobs, but the company will require a copy of your degree to hand in to immigration for the visa. So no, you cannot get a working visa before receiving your degree (as far as I know anyway). Your university may be able to supply you with an official notification or something stating that you have graduated but don't have your actual degree as yet.

Smoke is correct in that you can't get your work visa until you have proof of graduation. I'm not sure you can even apply until you have that, which btw, is a certificate of completion that get from your university's admissions office.

I guess you would mention on your application the expected date of graduation and whatnot.. I know a lot of grads do that for jet, and start immediately. So... yeah.

JETs don't start immediately, instead they receive their visas around 1-3 months after graduating which is about the typical processing time for a work visa. It is also a special circumstance since it is a government run program.

My son applied 18 months after his graduation, so he had his degree certificate. However he was still asked to send a copy of it back to his university and have it endorsed by the Chancellor's office before it coudl be submitted to the Embassy with his visa request.
(I suppose with scanning technology being so good, fake degree certificates must be on the increase.)

If you're not in possession of your certificate, then it will be very much harder to get your visa. Why not ask the Embassy whether they are prepared to accept a written endorsement from your university? The worst they can do is say no - at least you'll know where you stand.