Workplace Immigration - SHRM Advocacy

86% of C-Suite executives say their workforce strategies rely on workers with temporary visas

The U.S. needs a modern workplace immigration system that allows employers to access top global talent while protecting workers.

SHRM Supports

Access to Talent: Policies that ensure employers have access to visas to recruit, hire, transfer and retain top talent, especially those educated and trained in the United States.
Employment Verification: One reliable, entirely electronic employment verification system that integrates the Form I-9, provides users a good faith defense and is only for new hires.
Pre-Certified Employers: A “Trusted Employer” program to create efficiencies for employees, employers and government.

Latest Developments

Navigating Workplace Immigration Research:

A majority of American workers think that employers are losing out on highly-skilled workers by not modernizing the employment-based immigration system.

New SHRM Research reveals American workers’ perspectives on the employment-based immigration system, with a special focus on temporary visa holders.

Click here to read the full report

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March 22, 2021
SHRM joined Compete America and 28 other organizations, in a joint letter urging the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to address these operational challenges and backlogs. SHRM will continue to advocate for policies that modernize the U.S. immigration system, to allow employers to access top global talent, while protecting U.S. workers. Click here to read the letter.

2020
Kept open a critical talent pipeline by defending the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program to allow highly educated international students to contribute to U.S. workplaces.

july 10, 2019
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1044, the bipartisan Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act. SHRM has supported this initiative since 2011 and reiterated that support in a letter to congressional leaders in February.

SHRM's Take
Eliminating employment per country caps will create a first-come, first-serve green card system, putting talent and skills first so we can meet the current and future workforce needs of this country. SHRM strongly encourages the Senate to consider and pass this legislation in the same bipartisan fashion. You can find SHRM's statement here.

june 4, 2019
The American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (HR 6) passed the House of Representatives. SHRM advocates for a bipartisan legislative solution for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients. An excerpt from SHRM’s release on the bill’s passage can be found below.

shrm's take
We applaud the House for passage of bipartisan legislation that provides Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients and Dreamers legal status, work authorization and the opportunity to contribute permanently to the U.S. workforce. As the country faces a growing skills gaps, we must ensure that all workers educated and trained in the United States can contribute their talents to the American economy.

shRM Helps Secure Relief for Employers
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on March 20 that it will ease certain requirements for employers as they attempt to manage COVID-19. The announcement came after SHRM sent a letter to the leaders of DHS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asking for relief for employers on COVID-19 and related I-9 verification and visa issues. Read SHRM's article to learn more.

As employers work to close the skills gap, it is critical they have the tools to hire a legal workforce and the ability to access top talent no matter where it is found in the world.

Emily M. Dickens
Corporate Secretary, Chief of Staff & Head of Government Affairs, SHRM