Human Resources & Safety -Hiring foreign nationals

Hiring foreign nationals

In a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 29% of HR professionals said their primary reason for recruiting/hiring foreign nationals was because they could not find U.S. workers with the necessary skills. Fifty-two percent said the length of time required to process petitions was their greatest challenge in recruiting/hiring foreign nationals.

SHRM’s 2006 Access to Human Capital and Employment Verification Survey, which explores immigration and workforce readiness issues, polled 489 HR pros. Among other questions, respondents 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?

11% - none

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

29% - length of time before visa renewal

20% - organization’s ability to meet specific labor conditions to qualify employees for visas

16% - visa category’s eligibility requirements are too restrictive

8% - potential fines and penalties

3% - other