Government Policy Changes

Last Updated on March 2, 2023

According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), average case processing time has increased by 91% since FY 2014*. In turn, employee anxiety has also increased and the potentially delayed employee start dates have postponed their ability to contribute to crucial business projects.

About the 2019 Immigration Trends Report

The national survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll from Nov. 27 to Dec. 17, 2018, with 405 HR professionals and hiring managers participating across a variety of industries and company sizes. Each respondent is a U.S. Resident, 21+ in age and involved in hiring decisions at their company. Their companies have experience in either the visa or green card application process and they are familiar with sourcing foreign nationals for employment. Questions covered internal and external global immigration processes and challenges.

Only 12% of those surveyed said their organization’s hiring and retention strategies were not impacted by the current U.S. immigration system (Figure 6), and government policy changes related to quicker processing time (97%) and expedited filing (95%) were the most commonly cited aspects they would like to see addressed (Figure 7). Also frequently cited were better insights into USCIS processes for both employers and employees (95% and 93%, respectively; Figure 7). Even more telling is that 90% of respondents said all of the changes listed in Figure 7 are important, and three-quarters said they were extremely or very important.

Figure 6


Q: How does the current U.S. immigration system impact your company’s hiring and retention strategies?

Figure 6

 Figure 7


Q: How important are each of the following items in regard to what you would most like the U.S. government to change within the immigration system?

Figure 7

97% of employers cited quicker processing time as what they would like changed within the current U.S. immigration system Source: Envoy Global 2019 Immigration Trends Report

Learn more about 2019 immigration trends and benchmark your organization against other companies. Download the 2019 Envoy Global Immigration Trends Report.