Week of January 13-19, 2006 Vol. 36, No. 36
Formal immigration policy is becoming a ‘must’ for many firms
BY NICOLE L. EZER AND SALLY J. ADAUTO
SPECIAL TO HOUSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL
A good, clear immigration policy does more than
simply clarify the expectations; it assists in developing an organizations mind-set regarding its foreign
work force.
FEELING AT HOME
The parent company for many United States
entities is abroad, and the “imported” employees
feel as though they are the
“real” employees. They can
become rapidly annoyed by
any failures of the U.S. entity
to perform to standards they
expect to be maintained in
the company’s headquarters,
including their treatment in
the U.S.
If the company emEzer
ploys even one foreign
national employee it should
have an idea of short- and
long-term goals for this individual. Why? Several reasons, not the least of which is
the risk of the foreign national employee straying to a
company that does feel employee immigration issues
Adauto
are important.
The company must decide who within the organization will colaborate
with the foreign national and assist in managing immigration issues in a manner that is consistent with
company policy and who understands the challenges
that the foreign national may face after accepting the
U.S. assignment.
A company’s immigration policy should be compatible with the organizations other policies. Therefore, it should fit well within the interests of the
organization, while preserving, promoting and
retaining employees from abroad.
A certain level of comfort regarding the U.S. as-
signment is immediately achieved when the soonto-be-arriving foreign national makes contact with a
designated individual, and the company’s immigration
strategy is shared.
There probably will be questions regarding spousal
work authorization, the timing of children entering
school, driver’s licenses, legally permissible activities
in accordance with the visa status they will acquire,
the visa application procedure, whether a house hunting visit is allowed or convenient prior to making the
visa application, and so much more. It can be disconcerting to the foreign national if the company’s representative cannot answer, or, worse, has never thought
to ask these questions.
ANSWERING QUESTIONS
Creating a corporate immigration policy is a
necessary, straight-forward task for any company
employing foreign national employees, even if the
organization chooses to use an outside immigration
services provider.
Asking and answering fundamental questions will
assist in creating an immigration policy:
• Does the company hire foreign nationals at all?
Primarily for what positions?
• How long are typical U.S. assignments?
• What percentage of the company’s workforce is
comprised of foreign nationals?
• Will the company sponsor the family members for
any type of immigration? If so, for what type?
• Will the company cover all fees and
expenses or only some? Which ones?
• Will the company sponsor the permanent residence (green card) processes?
• What criteria must the employee meet before
the company can sponsor the permanent residence
processes?
• Does the company intend to have collaboration
between relocation and immigration providers? If so,
to what extent?
• Does the company have an employee reimbursement policy regarding immigration-related fees and
expenses?
• How does the company process employee visa
applications for employees going from the U.S. to foreign locations?
• Where are visas initiated within the organization,
whether the employee is entering the U.S. or accepting an assignment outside the U.S.?
• Has the company developed a policy regarding criminal behavior of employees as it relates to
immigration?
• Does the company understand employer responsibilities regarding its non-citizen workforce?
• Are employer responsibilities being properly
executed?
• What persons within the organization can
approve the immigration processes? Specifically
which processes?
• Who is maintaining a database of current foreign national employees so that they are working and
traveling legally?
• Who has been providing the company advice
regarding immigration to date?
• Is the company happy with that source? Does it
need to eliminate the source expand the services or
seek mother provider?
A proper immigration policy should address at
least these issues, and the company should be willing
to expand the policy for issues that arise within the
company and the Department of Homeland Security.
Flowcharts are extremely useful for mapping
out each process and identifying who is responsible
for establishing points of contact, required action points and levels of authorization; for all the
necessary components of visa initiation, preparation
and completion.
If an organization boasts intranet capabilities for
employee information sharing, this tool provides
allocation certain where all allowed levels of employees can view the established policy and any changes.
The flowcharts must be consistent while allowing
flexibility to grow as new immigration requirements
are defined.
Outside service providers can assist with policy
development that meets company guidelines.
NICOLE L. EZER, is Councel in Corporate Practice
Group at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, focusing her
practice on business immigration. SALLY J. ADAUTO
is associate director of human resources services with
U.S. Oncology, Houston.
Reprinted for web use with permission from the Houston Business Journal. ©2006, all rights reserved. Reprinted by Scoop ReprintSource 1-800-767-3263