What you should know before sponsoring immigrants for your business

First and foremost, while the EB-3 program is a viable hiring option for an increasing number of U.S. organizations, it is not the answer for companies looking for a quick fix to filling unskilled jobs. The process can be a lengthy one, taking months and in some cases years from employee recruitment to start date - with an average timeline of at least 13-18 months. The program is intended for companies across a range of market sectors that are looking to make a long-term investment in their employees’ future - and in fact many employees who start at entry-level jobs work their way up within their hiring companies.

Many companies are uncomfortable with the government making what some consider to be intrusive requests for tax records and other documents needed to validate their status and facilitate the EB-3 process. It can sometimes feel like the government is conducting an audit - though the end result is considered well worth it by an increasing number of organizations, especially in today’s extremely tight labor market.

Before starting down the EB-3 path, organizations are also required to test the labor market by twice placing local ads in the Sunday newspaper in order to show they are unable to hire U.S. citizens. Working with their states’ job boards, the goal is to ensure there are no American citizens who are willing and able to fill the available positions before they can bring on foreign nationals. Hiring organizations must pay the cost of these ads.

Immigration services agencies like BDV can help by finding potential workers, relieving the pressure of having to dedicate personnel and funds to finding foreign workers. Agencies bring an unmatched set of expertise to the table as it brings legal, business development, global mobility, and client services teams together to help at every step. The agency does the legwork with filings/tracking for the employer/employee, allowing sponsors to skip paying additional legal teams.

How does BDV Help?

Business Development: Our Business Development team helps employers understand the process and how this program can help them. If sponsors invest just one hour in researching EB-3 unskilled visas, it sets a solid foundation for a smooth process.
Global Mobility: Our global mobility team works to handle a wide range of filings efficiently and accurately. They will manage the Labor Certification process and help coordinate throughout the USCIS side of the process.
Client Services: Our Client Services team works as the intermediary between sponsor and employee to onboard BDV Solutions sourced employees and resolve any work-related issues. Client Services helps employees to get a social security card, access a DMV, figure out transportation to/from work, put kids in schools, etc.