Immigration law for employers is a complicated field and many employers run into problems when hiring or sponsoring immigrant workers as a result. Hiring an immigration lawyer to help you understand the details of immigration law for employers is the key to improving your workforce with skilled laborers from overseas.
While there are many skilled workers here in the United States, there are some specialized professions that only a few laborers are qualified for. If none of those laborers within the U.S. are available to work for your company, you have no choice but to turn to immigrant workers who can provide the skills that you need.
Immigration Law for Employers: Why You Should Hire an Employment Based Immigration Lawyer
When hiring overseas employees as an employer, it’s important to follow immigration law for employers set out by the U.S. immigration services. Failure to follow the necessary laws can not only result in lost skilled labor, but it can also result in very steep repercussions for your company. To avoid making these types of mistakes, an experienced employment-based immigration lawyer is a necessity.
The Basics of Immigration Law for Employers
As an employer hiring overseas labor, you must first file for (and be approved for) certification from the department of labor. With this certification, you will then be able to petition (Immigrant Petition for the Alien Worker) on behalf of the foreign worker/s that you are interested in hiring. With this approved labor certification, you may then petition on behalf of the foreign worker with USCIS. Once a sponsored worker is admitted to the U.S. on an employment-based visa, they may then apply to have their immigration status changed to permanent resident if certain criteria are met.
The Types of Employment-Based Visas
There are five classes of employment-based visas which you may petition for on behalf of your immigrant worker. There is an approximate total of 140,000 employment-based visas available every fiscal year and these visas are divided among those five categories. As an employer, you must know which of these categories of visa your immigrant employee fits into so that you have a better chance of having your petition approved. In addition, each category of employment-based visa has multiple sub-categories and the requirements for each of these sectors varies.
The five classes of employment-based visas include priority workers, people with advanced degrees or exceptional ability, skilled workers/professionals and unskilled workers, certain special immigrants, and immigrant investors.
Immigration Law for Employers: The Importance of an Attorney
As a business, it’s crucial that you are more than familiar with immigration law for employers which is a task in and of itself. That’s just one of the reasons why you should invest in an experienced immigration lawyer who can ensure that every step that you take goes by the book. Your immigration attorney can also assist you in filling in paperwork and filing that paperwork in a timely manner.
Avoid making any mistakes when you’re considering hiring overseas labor and give Nelson and Associates immigration lawyers a call today at 626-683-3451!