Last Updated on March 2, 2023
With increased scrutiny from immigration adjudicators, visa applications are under the microscope. That means employers have to take special care to make sure everything is prepared well and on time, and manage immigration scrutiny flawlessly.
For example, you should make sure you’re prepared for a Request for Evidence (RFE) issued to some employers by USCIS after your employee’s case has been submitted, especially since the number of RFEs increased by 45 percent in 2017. And it’s not just non-immigrant visas that are under increased scrutiny. In-person interviews are now necessary for work-sponsored green card applicants, an uncommon practice until 2017.
The scope of changes toward tougher immigration practices goes beyond the U.S., which means HR not only has to worry about more attention from American agencies but immigration authorities abroad as well. Here are some solutions to help you manage immigration scrutiny:
Solutions to manage immigration scrutiny:
Employers should keep all immigration documentation handy and well-organized, file on time and track employees as they travel across borders. Technology allows these processes to happen seamlessly, reducing the risk of anything falling through the cracks.
Make documentation easy to access
Immigration management technology has helped saved documentation organization today by allowing companies to store immigration records in one, centralized location. Cloud-based storage allows HR to ping an employee when an immigration form needs to be filled out, and it allows you to directly communicate with your immigration attorney faster to get your questions answered. When your HR team, sponsored employee, and attorney are all working from the same real-time forms, you can reduce the risk of error. With the right technology, maintaining accuracy in employee records – and ensuring everything is where it needs to be – helps enable immigration data compliance. This includes keeping compliant digital public access files, which are becoming more commonplace and need secure and organized digital storage.
Track your global employees
Secure online document storage and organization helps ensure all documents are up to date at the time of the employee’s departure or arrival back into the country. Tracking global employees and their documentation can help avoid issues from occurring.
To learn how to navigate more of your biggest immigration roadblocks, read our ebook, 10 Solutions to Corporate Immigration Challenges.
