Building a Manufacturing Workforce: Using the H-1B Visa Program to Fill Specialized Positions

Building a Manufacturing Workforce: Using the H-1B Visa Program to Fill Specialized Positions

Source: Cbia

Preparing for the Lottery

Manufacturers who wish to enter foreign workers in the upcoming H-1B cap lottery should begin the process as soon as possible.

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While the lottery registration period begins in March, now is the time to prepare.

First, manufacturers should work with their hiring managers and experienced immigration counsel to determine whether the offered positions qualify as a “specialty occupation,” to determine the minimum or “prevailing wage” that must be paid to H-1B workers in those identified positions, and to select the foreign worker candidates they wish to sponsor for the fiscal 2023 lottery registration.

Manufacturers should also work with legal counsel to assess the sponsored foreign national’s current immigration status to ensure their eligibility for an H-1B visa and to collect their personal biographical information for the lottery registration.

Finally, manufacturers who are new to the H-1B cap lottery will need to create an online account on the USCIS lottery registration website and provide legal counsel with basic information about the sponsoring organization, including its legal name and Employer Identification Number.

Additional Labor Resources

During this significant U.S. labor shortage, as an additional resource for employing qualified professional, skilled and non-skilled workers, manufacturers should also consider other options for hiring foreign nationals, such as: Sponsoring foreign nationals who are already working for them abroad, either for a parent/affiliate company or a foreign subsidiary in an executive, managerial or specialized knowledge position, for the L-1A or L-1B intracompany transferee visa;

Sponsoring Canadian and Mexican professionals who qualify for a TN visa

Employing foreign students who have recently completed or who will soon complete courses of study on an F-1 visa at a U.S. college or university and have an ensuing one- or three-year period of optional practical training in the U.S. available to them;

Hiring foreign workers with a valid Employment Authorization Document available to them as accompanying dependents of a principal visa holder (ex. employees in H-4, L-2, or E-3D visa status) or as refugees or asylum seekers.
Next Steps for Manufacturers

Given the relative ease and low cost of sponsoring a foreign national for the H-1B cap lottery, and coupled with the ongoing shortage of available and qualified U.S. workers, manufacturers should consider using the H-1B visa as a tool for recruiting highly skilled professional workers who bring innovative ideas and in-demand knowledge of the latest manufacturing trends and processes to the job.

As the March registration period for the FY 2023 cap lottery is quickly approaching, manufacturers who are interested in learning more about the H-1B cap lottery and visa process should contact experienced immigration counsel immediately.


Source: Cbia

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