Web-Based Tools And Services Can Cut Immigration Red Tape And CostsWeb-Based Tools And Services Can Cut Immigration Red Tape And Costs

Usually, it takes a lot of red tape, patience, and fees to legally hire foreigners to work in the U.S. But some employers are finding that Web-based tools and services can streamline the paperwork and cut legal costs associated with hiring foreign-born workers, including tech professionals.

Software vendor Pegasystems for years had used an outside law firm to handle the paperwork, processes, and legal questions involved with hiring foreign-born tech pros with H-1B visas and workers applying for green cards, or permanent U.S. residency.

While the application filing fees charged by the U.S. government are pretty much set depending on the type of immigration documents being filed, the variable costs add up when you count processing fees charged by the law firms that handle immigration issues on behalf of employers like Pegasystems. "It's the law firms' billable hours that adds up," says Kerry Baker, Pegasystems HR manager.

But now Pegasystems uses Web-based tools and services from VisaNow to handle its immigration processes, such as work visa and green card applications, which had been "paper burdened," says Baker.

Besides processing the immigration documents electronically, VisaNow also provides a team of immigration law experts who answer questions via a secure Web site. So, employers like Pegasystems, as well as the individual foreign worker, can go online and post questions that a VisaNow specialist will answer within 24 hours, says Baker.

When a visa applicant has a question about his or her immigration or work status, the individual can post online a question for VisaNow experts to answer directly, rather than asking the employers' HR department to contact an outside immigration lawyer to address the issue.

"This gives everyone visibility into the status of an application," says Baker. Right now, Pegasystems has about 40 people in various stages of immigration or temporary work in the VisaNow system, says Baker.

Also, unlike law firms who charge processing fees, and also bill hourly charges to answer questions and address other application problems that come up, VisaNow charges a flat "all inclusive" fee that covers each immigration transaction. VisaNow estimates that its flat-rate pricing can reduce immigration fees as much as 50%.

Pegasystems is still analyzing its costs savings using VisaNow versus the law firm, says Baker. However, one thing is certain so far, "the system is more convenient," she says.

Technology firms aren't the only companies using VisaNow's Web-based services to handle immigration processes. ABT Associates, a consulting and research firm, has been using VisaNow services for about three years to handle processes for the 20 or so foreign nationals it hires each year, including professionals with masters and doctorates in economics, says HR director Shawn Mood.

"When you're working with a law firm, you're mailing tons of paperwork back and forth," says Mood. But with VisaNow's Web-based services, "everything is easy to track, it's almost paperless," he says. "The HR department is no longer the middleman to get answers when an employee has a [immigration] question," he says. "This saves us money on hourly legal fees and saves us about one-third less time."

While VisaNow can't speed up the time that the government takes to process immigration applications, the Web-based tools eliminate time associated with completing and handling paperwork. VisaNow also helps to red-flag mistakes or omissions from application documents that would otherwise result in the government requesting additional evidence or information, says VisaNow VP of business development Jon Glickstein.

Also, VisaNow sends out electronic reminders to clients about immigration issues, such as the approaching April 1 date for filing H-1B visa petitions for fiscal 2008.

Last year, the congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas was hit in late May, less than two months after the U.S. government began accepting petitions for visas issued for fiscal 2007, which began on Oct. 1, 2006.