If you’ve read the Bridge blog recently, you know that strategic immigration spans well beyond the preparation of an immigration case. Developing a holistic immigration policy and investing in your team’s ability to handle this function are core to having success in today’s immigration climate.
Many employers view immigration as a one-person responsibility, when in reality, this function sits at the intersection of multiple departments – all of which need to understand the agreed upon approach to sponsorship, as well as some of the basics that come with serving international employees. Let’s discuss why immigration training for human resources, hiring managers, and leadership is key to realizing a return on your greater strategic immigration efforts.
Investing in People and Policy
Whether you’re formalizing an enterprise-wide immigration policy or simply reviewing technical requisitions to make them more immigration-friendly, how do you realize the ROI from any strategic initiative?
Investing in strategy alone, does little to guarantee the stakeholders who touch this function are acting with the company’s policies and best interests in mind.
Consider the 3 C’s as it relates to why immigration stakeholder training is important:
- Compliance: Protect both the employer and the employees by training human resources, hiring managers, and leadership to remain compliant when discussing sponsorship with international employees or when handling the day-to-day responsibilities of an immigration function.
- Cost: The true cost of sponsoring an international employee in this climate can span far beyond the legal fees and government filing fees for their initial filing. Requests for Evidence (“RFEs”) , rising wage levels, and dependent applications are worth considering when budgeting for an international hire.
- Confidence: Cross-department understanding of case timelines, which positions qualify for a visa, and for which positions the company is willing to sponsor. Allowing each stakeholder to confidently choose the best candidate, regardless of nationality.
What's covered in Immigration Trainings?
Key Takeaways
Whether you’re new to leading the immigration function or you’re interested in becoming more informed about your company’s immigration policies, one-off or cadenced immigration stakeholder training can serve those efforts. Investing in technology, processes, and policy is key to modernizing an immigration function, but employers need to go the distance by arming all immigration stakeholders with the tools to remain compliant and confident as they handle immigration-related responsibilities.
Our team of experts is standing by to assist as you think about leveling up your team’s immigration knowledge.
Content in this publication is not intended as legal advice, nor should it be relied on as such. For additional information on the issues discussed, consult a Bridge-affiliated partner attorney or another qualified legal professional.
