Quashie said he found that reasonably structured repayment agreements were helpful in mitigating employees` desire to leave. “I kind of compare it to a non-competition clause where I`m not sure it can actually be enforced,” he said. “But I think more people who sign them will try not to leave during the set period than they will decide to collect the money and leave.” Global biotech company Qiagen does not have a published green card policy, but follows an internal standard operating procedure, said Derry Velardi, the company`s deputy director of human resources. This wisdom of the crowd (CCA members` discussion) deals with employee reimbursement agreements for permanent residency (green card) applications under U.S. law. This resource was compiled from questions and answers posted on the VAC Labour and Employment Network forum.* Has anyone asked an employee to sign a reimbursement agreement for the costs an employer spent through the application for permanent residence? I am thinking of something like a credit forgiveness agreement, where the employee, if permanent residency is approved, agrees to reimburse the company for a portion of the costs spent (by reducing the percentage due for each year the employee stays in the company) if he or she voluntarily leaves the employment relationship within a certain number of years. Zarina Godhrawala, head of global mobility and immigration at Deloitte, explained that her company has worked its green card policy to attract and retain talent. However, she added that her team may deviate from the policy and follow additional guidelines depending on the needs of the company. Whether or not a company has a formal policy, employers need to be aware of several key areas of the sponsorship process – requirements, costs, and reimbursement agreements. Even before the employee receives a green card, the regulations allow him to change employers. If a person`s application for adjustment of status has been submitted and is 180 days old, that person can change employers under the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act. Employers must also decide who will pay for the process beyond the sponsoring organization`s requirements.
This can be an important factor in whether the employee is ready to go through the green card process. Some employers require employees in the green card process to stay in the company for a certain period of time or reimburse the costs that the employee can legally bear if they leave before the end of that period. When used, these recoveries are usually applied to offset part of the cost of expenses when employees leave the company after receiving their green card. However, the law does not prescribe a specific period during which green card beneficiaries must continue to work with the sponsoring employer after receiving their green card. Many companies that sponsor green cards for their foreign employees, such as . B the services company Deloitte, have green card policies that they can use as a recruitment tool. Interested in positive and negative thoughts, and if someone has used something like this, a possible agreement template.i Deloitte also doesn`t have a repayment agreement. Yes, we regularly require employees to sign a recovery agreement for the cost of applying for a green card. There is no small obligation for the employer, and since the employee is bound to you on an H1 visa but is free once the green card arrives, it is quite reasonable for the company to wait for a refund if the employee leaves (voluntarily) within a set period of time (24 months). The problem, of course, is the execution of the deal, because the cost of prosecuting the employee and collecting a judgment is prohibitive, and it`s generally illegal to withhold money from a final paycheck (in some states, you may not be able to pay for unused paid vacation days). But conceptually, it is quite reasonable and legal to ask the applicant to sign a refund agreement.iv Factors to consider include the employee`s current visa status as well as the country of birth, which significantly affects the length of the process. Depending on the visa category, foreigners from India can be stuck in the green card backlog for decades.
We have addressed this issue and introduced a collection provision in the event of the employee`s departure. Essentially, we make a promotion or job offer condition that we pay for the application, and if they leave before they are granted, it will be refunded in full, if they leave within X years of receiving the green card, then it will be charged pro rata. The average number of years it takes for this nationality to obtain a green card (exa: citizens of India / China = 10 years) affects the number of years the employee must stay, etc. We also do not pay for visas/green cards for dependents.ii Employers can pay for the entire process or ask employees to cover the cost of the visa application and adjust the status of the process, including filing fees, medical tests, and green card applications for dependents. An organization`s green card policy is one of the most important considerations for foreign candidates considering their career choices. One of the first factors to consider is employee eligibility. The green card process can be started immediately after hiring or on the basis of a specific mandate. Deloitte and Qiagen both require a year of service and good performance before starting the green card process for an employee.
“You have to have a framework for consistency, but in this climate, you also have to be agile because the law changes every week,” said Derek Quashie, senior immigration practice executive at PwC Law in Toronto. “But what I`ve seen with the previous companies I`ve worked for is that it wasn`t worth the effort around the collection,” Godhrawala said. 4 Steps to Mitigate Risks When Hiring Foreign Independent Contractors I just want to add that the last time we looked at this (a few years ago), not all costs were refundable – you could only recover the fees for I-140 (immigration application) and I-485 (application), not the cost of labor certification.iii “Not all policies will be the same for all businesses, ” she said. It depends on the skills you`re hiring for. “Deloitte and Qiagen both pay for most aspects of the process, including medical exams,” according to Godhrawala and Velardi. Because we use it as a recruitment tool, we tend to provide our employees and their loved ones with the support they need,” Godhrawala said. Paying for premium processing is another option. “I have clients who only pay for premium treatment when there is a real business need,” Coffman said. “We don`t have a guideline for that because it happens so rarely,” Velardi said. Other companies are considering sponsoring workers for permanent residency, given the current challenges they face in approving temporary work visas and extensions, said William Coffman, special counsel in the Boston office of law firm Mintz Levin. “Maybe they`re doing it sooner or they`re making policies if they don`t have them, or they`re changing policy,” he told attendees at the recent Global Immigration Council symposium in 2018. “The DOL takes this very seriously and has punished companies for non-compliance.” [SHRM and CFGI eLearning: Hiring Foreigners: Immigrant Visas].
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