Legal Question in Immigration Law in Pennsylvania

Re: work visa

You asked about hiring a veterinarian under an H1B visa.

Sure your organization qualifies to hire under that visas. Every employer is qualified. There are two questions that are much more important. Does the person qualify for an H1B visa and can your organization afford this person?

Employment visas are more tightly controlled than other types. Depending on the involvement and position of the profession, veterinarians may or may not qualify for an employment visa. There needs to be a recognized shortage of qualified domestic persons and if I recall correctly it is the position of the profession that there is a sufficient number of qualified persons (this profession in particular keeps a tight control on the supply of practitioners in the U.S.).

The second issue is affordability. H1B visas are not only hard to come by for organizations, but they can be expensive. Can your organization actually get one of these visas allotted? There is a limited supply every year and they are over subscribed within days of being offered every year. And with the economy as it is the number of such visas is likely to be reduced for the next cycle. Moreover, once this person gets such a visa is that person likely to stay with your organization?

I'm willing to bet that your organization got few offers because the stated compensation was relatively low. In that case it would be obvious that a foreign qualified individual from a country likely with a lower compensation expectation would be more willing to work for the wage offered. But, just because that person is willing to take a job for that wage, 1) does not mean that a failure to find personnel at the wage offered means there is a limited supply of qualified domestic workers to justify going outside the U.S., and 2) does not mean that such a wage will be acceptable once that person is employed. There is nothing to stop a person from bolting once they have a work visa.

The person is probably better off seeking an emigrant visa as an educated professional with an offer of employment from your organization. This would be relatively likely to be granted and is actually easier to obtain than an H1B. Moreover, with this type of visa the person has a disincentive to take another job. The visa would likely be conditional based on the employment with your organization. If the person fraudulently used your offer to obtain entry and then found a better job their visa status would be subject to revocation. Unlike with H1B visa where such a standard would not apply.

As long as your offered wage is within the spectrum of what is reasonable for the specialty and market then getting a qualified person whether domestically or internationally should not be such a production.

Regards,

Roger