Insights into U.S. inbound immigration

Most global mobility managers know that employment immigration is usually fraught with challenges.  

First, it can be expensive. One survey (Council for Global Immigration) revealed that the average employer spends $506,972 on the immigration function. Why? Attorney's are not cheap, and the process is time consuming and complicated.

Second, as mentioned above, it is time consuming. Mobility managers agree that the ability to obtain visas in a timely, predictable and flexible manner is critical to their organization’s business objectives. But in the process, they have to deal with delays in visa processing, inconsistencies in visa issuance, inhibitive immigration polices and regulatory scrutiny by government agencies as they try to bring in top talent for their respective organizations.

Risk management is a key issue with every relocation program, and nowhere is this more evident than when dealing with visa and immigration matters. Uninformed immigration actions can have painful consequences, like harmful delays, fines and penalties and increased potential for noncompliance. So, staying on top of what is happening and how it might impact your mobility program or specific cases is important.

This story shares three learning updates from the Employee Visa Engagement event hosted by USCIS, where the Department of Labor and Department of State spoke on:

• Visa Bulletin Predictions
• Beginning H-1B Targeted Site Visits to Combat Fraud
• Best Practices for H-1B Employers
  
  

Sometimes we have to slow down to catch up!