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Small Business Human Resources Workforce Development Your Questions Answered Success Stories

June 2006 — Vol. 84, No. 5

Lack of qualified Americans main reason companies hire foreign nationals

 

In a recent survey of 489 HR professionals conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 43% of the respondents said their primary reason for recruiting and hiring foreign nationals was because they could not find U.S. workers with either the necessary skills or the necessary degrees. Sixty-four percent said their greatest challenge in recruiting/hiring foreign nationals was delays caused by processing of visas/green card applications.

Among other questions, respondents to SHRM’s 2006 Access to Human Capital and Employment Verification Survey, which explored immigration and workforce readiness issues, were asked the following:

What is the primary reason for recruiting/hiring foreign nationals?

  • 30% — Recruited as part of standard domestic recruitment, but later learned that candidate was a foreign national
  • 29% — Cannot find U.S. workers with the necessary skills
  • 14% — Cannot find U.S. workers with the necessary degrees
  • 11% — Global organization
  • 8% — Cannot find U.S. workers willing to do the work
  • 2% — Recruited to increase diversity
  • 6% — Other

What challenges have you encountered when recruiting/hiring foreign nationals?

  • 64% — Delays caused by processing of visas/green card sponsorships
  • 55% — Process (including paperwork) too complex
  • 52% — Length of time required to process petitions
  • 43% — Cap on number of visas available/too few employment-based visas/green card sponsorships available
  • 42% — Processing fees too costly
  • 30 % — Cost of recruitment
  • 20% — Organization’s ability to meet specific labor conditions to qualify employees for visas
  • 16% — Visa category’s eligibility requirements are too restrictive
  • 11% — None
  • 10% — Temporary provision of labor
  • 9% — Length of time before visa renewal
  • 8% — Potential fines and penalties
  • 3% — Other

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