Once you have determined that the best way for your company to move forward is by hiring foreign employees, either because of their particular training or their expertise, you might start to feel a bit overwhelmed as to how to go about achieving this. You are undoubtedly aware of the fact that the immigration process in the United States is quite complex and complicated. As if that wasn’t discouraging enough, the way the subject of immigration has been portrayed in the news recently certainly does not help matters either. However, you should know that it is possible and not be deterred by the complexities of the task.
Hiring Foreign Employees In 5 Steps
1. Be aware of the time needed
Hiring a foreign employee is not something that happens from one day to the next. Be prepared to deal with mountains of red tape and devote quite a bit of time. As soon as you decide that you need this particular employee find out what immigration program may be the most appropriate and consider getting in touch with an immigration lawyer.
2. Prepare your company for the new hire
What roles will need to be filled by foreign employees? What talents and capabilities are you looking for? Put in place a plan to recruit them. Establish how you are going to bring them into the country and how to keep them here.
3. What type of visa will your foreign employee receive?
Is the position you are looking to fill permanent or temporary? Is there a treaty in place between the country of origin of your employee and the United States? Once you know the answers to these questions, you can more accurately determine what business immigration program is the most appropriate.
This could be a visa due to your employee possessing extraordinary ability in a particular field, a visa that allows a student to remain in the country for a specified period of time, among others.
4. Contact the Department of Labor
It is important to know that the Department of Labor wants to make sure you are not hiring an employee that you could easily find in this country, that you will not harm job opportunities for Americans. You may have to obtain a specific certification depending on the business program you will be using.
5. Request the visas from the USCIS
As an employer, you are responsible for procuring visas for your employees that come from abroad. Fill out the necessary paperwork with USCIS and wait to receive the approvals. Also, once your employee is hired and has been working for you for some time, you will have to deal with USCIS to renew or prolong their visas.
If you are considering hiring a foreign employee, rest assured that there are established pathways to accomplish this. Yet you don’t have to understand all the visa programs available, all the requirements for each one of them and all the timelines that you will require for each. Contact the Florida Immigration Law Counsel today and explain to them exactly what employees you are looking to hire. They will give you a free consultation and recommend the correct way to proceed. Give them a call today and start the process.