Why the U.S. requires foreign talent in 2021

Author

Mobility Soft

The United States was founded on the values of liberty, and the American Dream is the idea that the government should protect each person’s opportunity to pursue their idea of happiness whether the person is a citizen of the United States or a foreign talent. It is this value that made America great and known as the land of opportunity worldwide.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The Declaration of Independence

Why immigration is important for the USA

Even before the onset of COVID-19, US employers, especially those in the tech sector, were desperately in need of workers to fill vacant job positions because there were not enough highly skilled human resources inside the country to fill the talent crunch.

This is one of the reasons why many high profile attorneys have stated that they continue to work on O-1 Visas for their clients, despite the ongoing crisis: “We will defeat this disease because of our immigrant doctors, vaccines, and medical support. I’ve done stacks of O-visas for hundreds of people in the science and medical professions.”

Although President Donald Trump in his defense has stated that the immigration policies have been changed to safeguard the national interest, these changes threaten to completely crumble the already frail industries in the country which are in desperate need of foreign talent.
According to The Wall Street Journal reports, in November 2019 there were about 918,000 unfilled IT jobs.

The O-1 visa is a good choice for foreign talent

When it comes to working in the U.S., one cannot go wrong with the O-1 visa. The advantages it provides are substantial as mentioned below:

Dual intent visa: The O-1 Visa opens up a path to apply for the EB-1 Green Card.

Labor certification not required: This means that unlike the H-1B visa, it does not require labor certification, which means it is a lot more flexible than other non-immigrant visa categories.

No annual statutory cap: There is no limit as to how many people can apply for the visa. Also, it does not have an application period. So, applicants can apply for an O-1 visa year-round and without having to worry about getting into a lottery by April 1st.

No limit on how many times you can extend it: Unlike other visas, the O-1 does not max out after 6 years. The initial period is up to 3 years and thereafter, you can apply for extensions.