Last Updated on March 2, 2023
In the second annual Immigration Trends Report, we uncovered some critically important findings that impact global employers when it comes to hiring and managing the complex immigration process. Dick Burke, Envoy’s Chief Executive Officer, recently spoke with Todd Schnick and Rayanne Thorne of Intrepid HR to discuss these findings and the overall current state of immigration.
Current State of Immigration Causing Challenges for Employers
According to Burke, the current state of immigration poses many challenges for businesses. “If you bucket them, employers are dealing with uncertainty, incremental costs and deferred revenue and business opportunities,” he said. 30 percent of surveyed employers said they have been forced to increase their budget to account for increased immigration spend, while 27 percent of companies are delaying projects because of the inability to get the right talent through the complicated immigration process.
The most dramatic change on a year-over-year basis, as noted in the survey, is the increased importance employers have attached to the need for global talent. In fact, 55 percent of employers expect their global needs to increase, in large part due to the battle for talent, indicating that more and more companies are operating across borders.
“One of the most interesting statistics that came out of this year’s survey,” Burke said, “was that 21 percent of employers are relocating work overseas because they cannot get the workforce they need in the United States due to restrictive immigration law.”
Global Mobility is Essential to Acquiring Talent
Organizations are doing a number of things to enable global mobility and immigration amidst the various challenges. The bottom line is that CEOs want to hire the best talent regardless of that talent may be located. “This is coming from the highest reaches of every company, so they’re investing in cultural assimilation programs, they’re investing in green cards, and they’re investing in robust global operations,” Burke said.
Thirty-four percent of employers, according to the survey, said they begin the green card process immediately in order to acquire and retain global talent, and 40 percent of employers said they pay for dependent visa or green card applications for family members. While these initiatives are a “big expense” according to Burke, employers have recognized the significance they hold when it comes to attracting and retaining a global workforce.
To download a copy of the Immigration Trends Report 2017, click here.
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