Employer Sponsor

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Can an employer sponsor their employee for immigration and do I need an attorney for this?

 

Submitted by Carlos Borja on Sat, 11/12/2016 - 05:40.

 

Answer:

Yes, a U.S. employer can sponsor an employee for immigration -- either for a temporary work visa (such as an H-1B) or for permanent residence (a green card). The employer would initiate the process, and the employee would submit various applications and likely attend an interview at a U.S. consulate or U.S. immigration office in order to complete it.

 

The process is not likely to be quick or easy, however. It may involve long waits, in categories where limited numbers of visas or green cards are available each year. And you will have to pay the same amount as you would have paid an American worker.

 

U.S. immigration law is notoriously complex. Most of the employment-based categories are for professional-level or skilled workers. Depending on what category of visa or green card your prospective workers applies for, both you and the worker are likely to have to submit extensive proof of things like the job requirements, the applicant's qualifications, and so on.

What's more, if you wish to sponsor the person for a green card, you will in most cases have to conduct a complete recruitment and hiring process first, to make sure that no U.S. workers are capable of and willing to take the job.

 

For more information on eligibility and application procedures for green cards based on work, see "Employment-Based Green Cards."

 

Petitioning for a foreign-born person to receive a nonimmigrant (temporary) visa takes less time and doesn't require the same recruitment efforts, but comes with complications of its own. For example, in the H-1B category, so many people apply that the available visas run out early in the fiscal year.

Submit question "Temporary (Nonimmigrant) Work Visas" at LEGiTiGO for more information.

 

Hiring an immigration attorney to analyze whether you have job openings that might qualify a foreign-born person for a visa and help with the process will save you a great amount of time, and prevent wasted efforts.