Here is another version of “Dear Sophie”, a consultation column that answers questions about immigration about working in technology companies. “Your questions are vital to the spread of knowledge that allows people around the world to rise above the boundaries and pursue their dreams,” said Silicon Valley Immigration Attorney Sophie Alcorn. “Whether you’re in the public eye, a founder or looking for a job in Silicon Valley, I’d love to answer your question in my next column.”
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Dear Sophie:
We are having a very difficult time filling vacancies in engineering and other positions in our organization and plan to try more simultaneously for recruitment internationally.
Do you have any suggestions for attracting workers from abroad?
– Pacific country
Dear Proactive,
Yes, I have a lot of advice on what you can do to support international talent interested in going to the United States. Immigration is a great facility to attract the best and brightest team members from around the world. In addition, providing immigration protection through Visa practice and green card programs helps retain these valuable individuals. Consider sponsoring international students and other eligible candidates in the upcoming H-1B lottery in March.
As it stands now, the H-1B lottery will be random this year, not a play-by-play. We expect the electronic lottery process to follow these dates:
- March 9 at 9 a.m. PST: H-1B registration process opens.
- March 25 at 9 a.m. PDT: H-1B registration process closes.
- March 31: You will know if your H-1B beneficiaries selected electronically in this initial round of the lottery.
- April 1: First date to file H-1Bs selected in the lottery to request a 10/1/2021 or later start date.
- June 30: Last anticipated day to complete filing of selected H-1B petitions this initial round of the lottery.
- After June 30: Possibility of a second lottery for registrations submitted in March.
H-1B and other effective immigration-support measures you can take allow your international team members to enjoy a greater understanding of immigration protection. This allows them to focus on their work rather than worrying about their immigration status. Here are my recommendations for drawing international talent from abroad and encouraging productivity and loyalty.
Establish your company’s immigration policy
I recommend working with an experienced immigration attorney who can help your organization develop immigration policy based on your organization’s core values, recruitment and immigration budget, and growth plans. Think of immigration as an advantage and a way to differentiate your organization from others when hiring top talent. The provision of immigration benefits and the building of loyalty and longevity of members of the immigration protection team go a long way.
For some organizations, the best policy may be to have no policy at all but it is important to be intentional about it, how it will affect your ability to make decisions and budget. For other companies, they apply a restricted immigration policy; for example, hire 40 engineers as soon as possible. Even with a decentralized workforce, your new organization may be happy to move from Ukraine to Idaho without hiring.
