Many businesses depend on foreign nationals in their workforces. Particularly in the STEM industries, employers may have trouble finding enough qualified workers domestically who are US citizens or permanent residents.
The fastest way to onboard a foreign professional to commence employment with your company is through sponsoring them for a work visa. There are a variety of work visas available. The H-1B Specialty Occupation visa is the standard work visa for professionals, but there is also the L-1 Intracompany Transferee visa for foreign professionals currently working for your company at an office outside the USA, and country-specific work visas that have special benefits over the H-1B, such as the E-3 for Australians, TN for Canadians and Mexicans, H-1B1 for Chileans and Singaporeans, and the E-1 Treaty Trader and E-2 Treaty Investor visas for companies that are majority owned by a country that holds an E treaty with the United States.
Seeking Permanent Resident Status for Employees
Many employers sponsor their foreign workers for Green Cards so they can stay permanently in the United States and have a path to citizenship. This can be a laborious process requiring the employee to provide extensive documentation and sit for one or more interviews.
Our legal professionals can assist your business and worker through every step in the process. We can review documentation to ensure it is complete, respond to Requests for Evidence, and prepare applicants for their interviews.
In most cases, to sponsor a foreign professional for permanent resident status (“green card”), employers will need to prove that they cannot find qualified U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents for a job. They must obtain a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. Our immigration lawyers can help you apply for a labor certification, which must be granted before a foreign national can apply for a visa allowing them to work at your business.
In some cases, it may be possible to avoid the time-consuming process of labor certification. People with exceptional skills in their field, advanced degrees, or who are licensed in certain professions may be eligible for EB series visas that do not require labor certification. Our legal professionals can advise whether pursuing one of these visas is an option in a specific case.
