green card

Hiring on H1b employees is a great option for established companies as well as start-ups. This particular work Visa allows workers to stay with the company and work for up to six years, with opportunities to pursue pathways towards Green Cards and citizenship. Unlike an F1 work visa, H1b employees will have the time to integrate into the companies and organizations they work for, building a long-term, cohesive workplace.

If you or your client is looking into hiring H1b employees to work for your start-up company, the petition process may be more complex than if your company was established. This is because start-up companies tend to run on tight budgets. You must be able to prove that you can pay your H1b employee prevailing wages for the position, as well as benefits. Your company must be able to do this without cutting into the salaries of other non-H1b employees, and without loosing overall economic viability. Accurately budgeting for your H1b employee is essential, and you must have the evidence to prove it.

Many companies resort to cutting corners when just starting up. If you hire an H1b employee, you cannot do this. You also must ensure that your H1b employee’s working conditions are up to standard. To do this, you must file a Labor Condition Application and it must be approved by April 1^st. Detailed evidence that your company upholds US labor standards is necessary for this application to be approved so you and your employee or client can move forward on the petition process. This will benefit your company in the long run by ensuring that your business is built on a basis of excellence.

If you hire a foreign worker, you will most certainly be held to higher standards and have those standards enforced more strictly than if you simply hire US-born workers. However, this will ensure that your company get off to a legitimate start and evolve from a strong, solid foundation. There are simply not enough highly skilled workers who are US citizens to meet the growing job demands of the IT industry, and plenty of brilliant minds from other countries who want to work for you. At the same time, with H1b employees on staff, your company will have strong roots in an international perspective and a global focus. As the business world – particularly the IT world – becomes evermore globally oriented, your company will already be structured for this modern, global industry while established companies and other start-ups that don’t hire H1b workers will have to adapt.

It is well worth the extra attention to the details of the petition process to start up your new business with H1b employees on your staff.

About the Author

Sheila Danzig

Sheila Danzig is the Executive Director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com a Foreign Credentials Evaluation Agency. For a no charge analysis of any difficult case, RFEs, Denials, or NOIDs, please go to http://www.ccifree.com/ or call 800.771.4723. Mention that you saw this in the ILW article and get 72 hour rush service at no charge.