Whether you head up a Fortune 500 company or a small- to medium-sized business, hiring foreign nationals might benefit your company when it comes to filling certain employment positions. You'll want to hire the most highly skilled employees you can find, but sometimes this means looking beyond the U.S. borders. If you're considering hiring employees from outside the U.S. to move and work with your company (whether permanently or temporarily), you'll find this task much less daunting when using the services of a U.S. immigration and visa lawyer.

Also known as a "green card lawyer," a U.S. immigration and visa lawyer can help you recruit and retain some of the most talented professional and skilled laborers in the world without violating immigration laws. You'll save time and money as well as reduce the stress that can be caused by legalities.

H-1B Visa, L-1 Visa, and PERM Labor Certification

A major advantage of hiring a green card lawyer is the lawyer can help you understand all the complicated visa terminology. You should be aware of the three major types of employment visas. An H-1B visa is a three-year visa, which can be extended to six years (and sometimes beyond) if you need an employee to work longer. It is for non-immigrants and allows companies to hire foreign nationals as guest workers that specialize in certain fields including (but not limited to) engineering, architecture, medicine, law, accounting, education, and other specialty fields.

An L-1 visa is another non-immigrant visa that is available for only a short period of time (usually three years). It is available to those employed by an international company that has offices in both its home country and the U.S. The L-1 visa allows foreign employees to enter and work in the U.S. after the employee has worked abroad with that particular company for at least a year prior to being granted the L-1 visa status.

For those who wish to work permanently in the U.S., a PERM labor certification must be issued by the Department of Labor (DOL). The approved labor certification must be obtained by the employer from the Employment and Training Administration (ETA).

A U.S. immigration and visa lawyer can also help you with other visas such as B-1 business visa, B-2 tourist visa, TN visa, E-1, E-2, and E-3 visas, O and P visas, O-1 visa, and R-1 visa. There are also other permanent employment visas including EB-1 priority workers, EB-2 professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability, EB-3 skilled or professional workers, EB-4 special immigrants, EB-5 immigrant investors, and permanent immigration for nurses.

Utilizing the services of a green card lawyer will shed some light on what type of visa your employees will need and how to obtain each without many legal hassles.

Need to Hire Soon?

An H-1B visa lawyer can help you hire sooner than later. If you need to fill positions quickly, you might consider candidates that are already in H-1B status. Referred to as an "H-1B transfer, this procedure allows you to hire employees immediately instead of waiting to file a new H-1B petition on April 1st. This means you can employ them if they have maintained lawful status, have been admitted into the U.S. lawfully, and have worked in lawful status. To file a petition for an H-1B transfer, you must file it before the employee's current H-1B status expires.

Before choosing a U.S. immigration and visa lawyer, be sure to check their credentials, read testimonials from other companies, and research the services they offer. Many green card lawyers have their own website explaining what they do and how they can help you with foreign worker hiring needs. With U.S. Immigration laws being so complex, you'll need a green card lawyer that can put the facts in simple, every-day terms and guide you through the visa process quickly. Go online today to find the right visa lawyer to meet your needs.