The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a new regulation limiting H-1B work visas for foreign nationals. The new regulation creates restrictive definitions of specialty occupation and an employer-employee relationship, and limits H-1B approvals to one year for work at customer locations.
New regulations to limit US tech companies to hire international talent
Skilled workers, including technology engineers from throughout the world – are frequently brought to the US to work alongside colleagues via the use of H1-B Visas. According to the PEW Research Center, between 2001 and 2016 – 50.5% of H1-B visas for first time employment were from India, 9.7% from China, 3.8% from Canada, 3.0% from the Philippines, and 2.8% from South Korea.
These new regulations will severely limit the ability for tech companies to hire via the use of H1-B visas. These limitations are likely to significantly impact the ability for US tech companies to remain competitive where they are not able to utilize H1-B visas to attract talent not readily available in the US labor market.
Covid and remote work
Many companies have had to rethink their workplace environment – with most tech companies already operating remotely – while utilizing existing employees dispersed around the country and the world. A legal entity is no longer required to employ talent virtually anywhere in the world — as PEO services companies can help provide a seamless hiring solution for your company’s global needs.
GoGlobal can help
The international PEO services model enables companies to hire compliantly, quickly, and affordably almost anywhere, while avoiding the pitfalls and risks of hiring contractors. As an international PEO services company present in 17 APAC countries, GoGlobal is well placed to help US Tech companies adapt to this new regulatory development on H1-B visas. Please contact us to discuss how GoGlobal can help you.