Small Business Hiring Challenges and the Immigration Landscape
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3. No Deference to previous Approval
Not only is it the case that USCIS adjudicators are construing regulations increasingly restrictively, but, adding to the uncertainly, the longstanding rule for the extension of immigration benefits, i.e. that extensions should be granted as long as the conditions of initial approval have not materially changed, has been abrogated.
Now, every extension application is supposed to be evaluated as if it were a new application. According to a USCIS memorandum on the subject, officers now “should not feel constrained in requesting additional documentation.”
The likely consequence of this procedural change, which, essentially, shifts the burden of proof back to the employer, is to introduce a degree of unpredictability into the process of obtaining status extensions, while markedly increasing the costs for employers of their maintaining the immigration status of their foreign national employees.
The Take Away:
- When hiring foreign nationals, employers need to be more conscious than ever concerning the increased unpredictability of the immigration adjudication process;
- Employers must be willing, not only to pay more to hire foreign nationals, but to incur increased, ongoing costs to sustain the immigration status of their employees, including having to confront heightened risks that petitions for immigration benefits may be initially denied.
- The result of the current administration’s making the immigration process both more unpredictable and costly is that employers are more likely to reduce their hiring of foreign nationals with the indirect consequent that foreign talent may become less eager to come to the U.S., potentially adversely impacting the U.S. economy in the long run.
Related articles:
What Are Potential Small Business Impacts of New Immigration Policies?
Does Immigration Benefit Business?
Immigration Fraud Requires Pro-active Action
Five Insights on the State of Immigration, Politics and Business
