Immigration Today: Winning the Race for Talent When the ... · talent acquisition is main reason...

Christopher Thorn & Ayanna LondonMay 2, 2019

Presented to:

Immigration Today: Winning the Race for Talent When the Course has Changed

Immigration Today: Winning the Race for Talent When the Course has Changed

AgendaI. The Starting Line – The Changing U.S.

Workforce and Today’s Immigration Landscape

II. Obstacles and Pit Stops – Challenges Employers are Facing

III. Staying Ahead – Successful Strategies to Attract and Retain Top Talent

IV. Q&A

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The Starting Line

Meet the U.S. workforce of the futureIn 2017, there were 27.4 million foreign-born persons in the U.S. labor force:

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17.1%(of total)

16.9% in 201613.3% in 2000

20-25%(of STEM workforce)

1 million more STEM professionals needed than graduating at current rate

86%Sourcing foreign nationals is important to hiring strategy

13%Expected growth of STEM occupations between 2012 to 2022 (9+ million)

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43%Employers who say talent acquisition is main reason for U.S. immigration volume

$1.75 trillion

(6% of economy) Unrealized revenue U.S. could experience by 2030

80%Employers expect foreign headcount

to increase/stay same in 2019

6.5 million

Deficit of highly skilled workers

expected by 2030

23%

13%

7%31%

14%

10% 2% Upgrading talent withspecial skillsFilling open juniorpositionsFilling open seniorpositionsRecruiting a more diverseworkforceRetaining employeesalready on statusDeveloping and/or promotingexisting employeesOther

43%

April 2019: Two-Year Anniversary of the Buy American and Hire American Executive Order Stated Goals: Protect U.S. workers’ jobs and wages Enhance fraud detection and prevention in employment-based visa programs Increase the overall transparency of those programs for the American public

Focus on Reduced Immigration Focus on Increased Enforcement

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In the past five years, has your company’s visa application process (including external, or USCIS-related and internal processes) become more difficult, less difficult or remained the same?

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3532 31

44

29

25

47

34

18

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

More Difficult Remained the Same Less Difficult

2017 2018 2019

Requests for Evidence (RFEs)

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In the past five years, have your Requests for Evidence (RFEs)increased or decreased?

Data from USCIS indicates that the percentage of RFEs issued for H-1B cases jumped to 60% during Q4 of 2018–an increase from 46% in Q4 of 2017 and 28% in Q4 of 2016

RFE before Denial Not required H-1B Denial Rates Increasing FY16 – 10% FY17 – 13% FY18 – 24% FY19 – 32% (Q1)

45

5558

139 9

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2016 2017 2018

Increased Decreased

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Top 10 Reasons for RFE (FY18)# Reasons1 Specialty Occupation 2 Employer-Employee Relationship 3 Availability of Work (Off-site)4 Beneficiary Qualifications 5 Maintenance of Status 6 Availability of Work (In-house) 7 LCA Corresponds to Petition 8 AC21 and Six Year Limit 9 Itinerary 10 Fees

Increased Processing Times & Fees

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USCIS processing delays have hit crisis levels Case processing time has increased by 91%

since FY 2014 yet application rates have decreased

Higher levels of employee anxiety

Delayed start dates

Lapses in work authorization

Increase in premium processing fee and new biometrics fee

Increased Processing Times

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Form Title Classification/Basisfor Filing

FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19

I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker

Non-Immigrant Petition 2.3 5.5 4 3.4 5.1

I-131 Application for Travel Document Advance Parole 2.3 2.3 3 3.9 4

I-485Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status

Employment-based adjustment applications 6.5 6.8 8.1 11 12.2

I-765 Application for Employment Authorization

All other applications for employment authorization 2.4 2.6 3.1 4.1 4.7

N-400 Application for Naturalization Application for Naturalization 5.8 5.6 8.1 10.2 10

New Policies/Standards of Adjudication

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Rescission of “deference” policy Specialty Occupation – Degrees Staffing & consulting companies

under scrutiny L-1A Managerial Petitions Subsequent L-1 Petitions for

Readmission at the Canadian Border Elimination of H-4 spousal work

authorization

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Staying Ahead

Build an Immigration-Friendly Brand

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Understand the full candidate experience and lifecycle

Promote/highlight immigration-friendly company policies

Make immigration information more transparent and accessible

Offer corporate account for airfare that provides employees with discounted rates to home country

Consider supporting costs for family immigration applications

Implement New Recruitment Strategies

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College Recruiting Consult with immigration counsel to

understand the OPT and CPT programs providing work authorization

Align recruiting strategies with the job-seeking behavior of expats STEM: Professional networking sites Non-STEM: Referral programs

Highlight immigration-related perk packages Immediate green card sponsorship

Anticipate Challenges

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Work with immigration counsel to construct detailed job descriptions that include degree requirements and have clearer alignment to the specific role

Ask counsel to complete candidate degree assessment

Understand wage requirements before offering salary amount to candidate

Begin immigration processes as far in advance as possible

More supporting documents in initial filings Prep calls with counsel prior to visa

appointments

Expand Your Immigration Strategy

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Blanket L-1 Petition Option O-1 Visa for highly-skilled employees in

R&D Roles (typically PhD-level) TN option still available in United States-

Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) E-2 investor visas for multi-national

companies with substantial investments from foreign parent

Consider rotation to foreign office Assess work authorization options

through spouse

Thank youChristopher Thorn Ayanna London215.665.5329 215.665.3845Christopher.Thorn@bipc.com Ayanna.London@bipc.com