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How to Hire for a Newly Created Position With International Employees

Dec 16, 2020 | Business

Have you ever hired international employees before in your business? Perhaps you are looking to do that now to help bring more diversity into your company. After all, the perspective of someone who lived in another country is potentially valuable when looking at overseas markets.

This may be the first time you ever brought in an international hire, though, for a new position. What should you do to make them feel valued, including all business and legal matters?

Take a look at this list of things to consider, including practical things to make them fit in quickly with your work culture.

Gain Certification From the U.S. Department of Labor

Since the U.S. Department of Labor looks out for the welfare of American workers, you need to prove to the government that hiring a foreign worker with a new category will benefit your company. Sometimes, an international employee can better fill a role U.S. employees simply can’t take on.

You need to provide evidence of this to the government through their ETA forms. In the form, you also need to prove you can pay the employee the same wage you would a U.S. worker.

Once the government approves, you can place your job opening on international job boards to find a response. Keep in mind international resumes often look different from ones you are used to seeing. It could be in a different language.

After you find a candidate, you still need to go through governmental hoops to make sure they work here legally.

Obtain a Work Visa

To make it legal for your new international hire, you need to apply for a work visa on their behalf. Fortunately, 14 countries do provide visas to work remotely. However, for a standard work visa, you have two options here, one being relatively simple and the other being complex.

You can simply fill out Form 1-9 to verify the worker’s authorization. Or, if the person is still overseas, you have to sponsor a visa for them. In this latter scenario, you may run into more challenges.

When you sponsor a visa, the costs could end up being substantial. Plus, it could take weeks or months of time to complete. To make this more successful, you need to file a labor condition application with the U.S. Labor Department. You also need to send proofs and statements to the USCIS that you are a legitimate business and can take on all fiscal responsibility with your international employee.

Expect to pay quite a bit to get that work visa. These visas are also limited per year, so you might not succeed on your first try.

Create a New Job Description

After succeeding with the above steps, create a new description of the job your new international hire is doing. You may be creating an all-new job category for them in your company rather than merely filling a prior vacancy.

Perhaps you outlined your job description in your job listing. However, the new hire should get to know what their exact role is through daily communications among staff. Real-time interactions are important to help them feel welcome and understand what their duties are.

Provide everything they need to do their job right, including any translation services if needed.

Other Resources to Make the Employee Feel Valued

Creating an onboarding program should bring all elements of communication, including proper training technologies. Consider a digital learning management tool to help them with everything from scheduling to data collection. Using a program like this is useful if the employee is working in a remote location from another country.

A remote position internationally could create more challenges, including calculating local employment, immigration, and payroll laws. Be sure to study what those laws are if the employee is staying put in their home country to work remotely for your U.S. company.

Conclusion

Contact us at BrightR Limited to learn more about working with international employees and the complex steps involved.

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