U.S. Employers Can Fill Labor Gaps Faster Through New USCIS Policies

For years, major delays in visa processing have hurt both highly skilled foreign nationals looking for jobs in the U.S. and businesses trying to fill labor shortages with qualified talent. But U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services just unveiled new policies that could speed up this process.

USCIS updated its procedures to reduce visa backlogs and expand premium processing services to new types of immigration applications. And though many of these changes will be put in place over the next decade, they could still bring relief to employers and foreign nationals who have been stuck in visa limbo. For instance, the new policy would let people pay to expedite work permit requests, applications to change or extend nonimmigrant status and new types of work visa applications. Other major changes include:

• • Reducing processing time for certain work visa applications to two months
  • Allowing certain foreign employees to keep working on a lapsed work permit while a renewal request is pending

First to feel the relief will be U.S. businesses who sponsor foreign executives for work visas and highly talented foreign nationals who self-petition for work visas. Employers should stay up to date with these changes and prepare to take advantage of the new policies to fill highly skilled positions and ease workforce shortages.

Please contact Brandon Davis of Phelps’ Immigration team if you have any questions or need compliance advice or guidance.