Global Workforce Planning: Strategies to Optimize Your Immigration and Sponsorship Programs
Moving talent to the United States has never been more complicated. New immigration laws and policies, a volatile economy, and the impact of COVID -19 have raised the stakes for employers who wish to ensure their U.S. workforces are supplemented and supported by the best and brightest professionals from around the world. This includes unprecedented delays for visa appointments at understaffed U.S. consulates; aggressive tactics by federal agencies in enforcing the H-1B and PERM/U.S. Residency programs; new and unique compliance challenges for sponsoring employers whose foreign-born staff are working remotely; and the prospect of new rules heralded by the Biden Administration that would tighten the educational requirements for U.S. work permits, raise the wage floors for the H-1B and other visa programs, and limit the types of activities foreign nationals may perform in the United States as business visitors. The immigration programs of only the most informed and best prepared U.S. businesses will fare well in this new environment. This session will help attendees focus on these important issues and develop strategies for optimizing their immigration and sponsorship programs.
Learning Objectives:
- Attendees will develop an understanding of the visa appointment backlogs at U.S. consulates and how in-person interviews can be waived or expedited.
- Attendees will learn how to assess and reduce risks in their H-1B and PERM programs given the enforcement trends by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Justice.
- Attendees will receive an update on the Biden immigration agenda, including proposed changes that are likely to occur over the remainder of the president's first term.
In-person session offerings are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Andrew Greenfield
Andrew Greenfield is an immigration attorney with over 25 years of experience advising HR and global mobility professionals on U.S. immigration and nationality law and policy and related corporate compliance programs. He counsels clients across industries on visa and work permit matters and the immigration consequences of mergers and acquisitions and other corporate reorganizations, as well as I-9/E-Verify, H-1B/LCA and PERM compliance, and representation during government audits and investigations. Andrew is the managing partner of Fragomen’s Washington, DC, office and a member of the firm’s executive committee, which directs and manages the firm’s 50+ offices in over 30 countries.
Bo Cooper
Bo Cooper, Partner, Fragomen Bo Cooper is a Partner in Fragomen’s Washington, DC office, leading the Government Strategies and Compliance Group. He serves on the firm’s Executive Committee, where he works to set Fragomen’s strategic vision and philosophy, manage its worldwide operations, and ensure it remains progressive, agile, efficient, innovative, and consistent across all its jurisdictions. He provides strategic immigration advice to a diverse clientele, including corporations, nonprofits, hospitals, universities, and media outlets. Bo has extensive experience in navigating complex immigration challenges, interacting with Congress, executive agencies, and consulates, and representing clients in federal audits and investigations.
Previously, Bo was General Counsel of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) from 1999 to 2003, directing a legal program of 700 attorneys. He advised top U.S. officials on immigration law and has significant federal litigation experience as a former trial attorney in the Department of Justice. Bo has frequently testified before Congress and appeared in various media outlets such as PBS Newshour, Sixty Minutes, and CNN. He participated in negotiating international immigration agreements and served as a U.S. delegate to international organizations.
Bo has taught immigration, national security and related courses at the University of Michigan, Georgetown and American University law schools, and he currently teaches asylum law as a member of the adjunct faculty at Tulane Law School. He has an extensive pro bono practice and has contributed as amicus in key Supreme Court cases, served as an expert witness in federal litigation, and advised the Department of Homeland Security. He is also on the Advisory Board of the Migration Policy Institute. Bo received his J.D. from Tulane Law School and his B.A. from Tulane University.