A Guide for Corporate Clients Seeking International Options to Retain Employees Losing Status in the United States
By Zara Najam, Esq.
Corporate clients expend significant resources recruiting, onboarding, and training foreign national talent every year. Unfortunately, they are often left at the mercy of the annual H-1B lottery to determine if they can continue to employ or hire new foreign national talent in the United States. Many are disappointed when the results are released and immigration practitioners receive an influx of queries seeking alternative options to retain talent not selected in the lottery.
While there are some alternative U.S. immigration options, they are not often viable for every employee of the company. Therefore, to fully address our corporate clients’ business needs, immigration practitioners should be prepared to provide options beyond the limited avenues of U.S. immigration.
The goal of this article is to address potential non-U.S. immigration options for international companies seeking to relocate employees unable to remain in the U.S. While hiring or transferring employees to an overseas entity has always been an option for companies, it is not traditionally explored as a part of a comprehensive long-term plan for each foreign national employee. What makes this a more attractive option this year is that due to the pandemic, companies have realized the power of collaboration across international borders and the ability to continue business despite limited in-person meetings.