How to Hire a Foreign Employee

The Department of Labor seeks to protect the rights and work opportunities of U.S. citizens, so you will need to prove to them that there are insufficient qualified U.S. workers who are willing to perform your job at the prevailing wage.

To do so, you will need to complete the following steps:

• Provide evidence for the need to hire a foreign worker to fill your vacancy.
• Show that the vacancy meets the criteria for the selected foreign labor certification program.
• Complete and sign the appropriate ETA form.
• Prove that you can pay the candidate at least the prevailing wage.
• Mail the completed form and all the attachments to the designated office.

Once the Department of Labor has approved your certification for a foreign worker, you can begin the search to fill your vacancy. Post your job vacancy on a job site (or multiple sites) that caters to foreign workers (see our table below) and go through the hiring process as you would for a normal hire.

Remember, international resumes can be very different and include information that would not be present in U.S. resumes. Keep an open mind when going through international resumes. However, if there is information that you do not want applicants to include in their resumes, such as marital status, race, or photos, state that in your job descriptions.

It can take up to six times longer to find the best candidate and bring them to the U.S. Studies have shown that the average hiring time for an H-B1 professional is 275 days or approximately nine months.

While you may have all your paperwork in order, some candidates will need time to clear immigration issues and apply for visas, especially if they are coming from another country. Some candidates will not be approved for their visas and then you will need to start the hiring process again.

Once you have selected the best-suited candidates, you can start interviewing. If you are hiring workers that are currently living in their home country, you can use Skype or another video conference tool.

If your candidate is already in the U.S., you can use Form 1-9 to verify his or her work authorization. You can compare this form with the E-Verify federal database to check your candidate's work authorization.

If your candidate is not in the U.S., you will have to sponsor a visa, which can include considerable time and costs. This process can take weeks to months to complete and includes the risk of visa denial. You will need to consider how you will bring a foreign employee to the U.S. and how to keep them in the country and remain compliant with the law.

The process of sponsoring an employee for a work visa includes:

1. Applying for a Labor Condition Application (LCA).
2. Providing company statements and requested documents.
3. Filing the petition for a visa on behalf of your foreign employee.

All foreign workers need to apply for a social security number with the Social Security Administration, which they will then need to give to you, their employer. Foreign workers are subject to payroll taxes the same as U.S. citizens are.

Foreign-based employees working outside the U.S. will need to complete Form W-8 BEN. All employees will need to complete a Form W-2 so that the ICE can check their Form I-9. If a discrepancy is found between government records and the employee's information, a no-match letter will be sent to the employer. Do not fire your foreign worker if you receive a no-match letter or you could be sued for discrimination. Read the letter carefully and follow the instructions provided.