Ask HN: How can my company sponsor visas?

4 points by johnnyg 12y ago ↗ HN

I run CPAP.com. When hiring we often find that the most qualified candidate's application is dependent on being sponsored by our company. We want to open our hiring process up to this pool of people but want to both stay inside regulations and keep the process lean.

Has anyone put together a tutorial or primer on this for hiring developers and marketers?

I googled around as I wrote this and have included some resources and my comments on them.

A lot of gov-speak. Hard to see how this translates into my specific situation.

http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/E2en.pdf

A nice overview, but I want to hire developers and marketers. What kind of visa is that? Interviewing non-visa candidates works for us, we do it anyway, but how many interviews is enough interviews? Also, it says apply early. I'm guessing on Jan 1st the giant google/microsoft/amazon hiring machines send them all in. How much of a chance do I really have?

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/sponsor-employment-visa-10445.html

A hat tip to these folks for the depth. If we go down this road, I will be checking our process against their FAQs but I don't find this helpful for building the process itself.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/for-employers-how-sponsor-immigrants-work-visas-green-cards

This is nice but the "click here to download a timeline" link is both blue and not a link.

http://www.jnolanlaw.com/empworkvisa.htm

Any stories, tutorial/blog links or professional recommendations are appreciated.

2 comments

[ 9.2 ms ] story [ 20.1 ms ] thread

eshvk 12y ago ↗

I am not clear what exactly you are looking for. The first link that you put up is a USCIS link about permanent resident sponsorship. This process is distinctly different from visa sponsorship.

I don't know about marketers but developers typically come under the H1B visa. Yes, there is a lottery involved and you typically want to get everything done before the cap for the year is reached.

I suggest you contact an immigration attorney. I was part of an early stage startup where they tried the DIY route. The documentation is complicated and convoluted (USCIS is notoriously finicky) that having someone manage it is worth the few thousand dollars that it will cost.

tptacek 12y ago ↗

Not a fun answer, but, we sponsor visas, and how we do it is "retain an immigration lawyer".