Visa-Passport

 

Recently, a law school classmate of mine was informed that she did not win a spot in the H-1B lottery. She was devastated—in just an instant her life had been turned totally upside down. She had lived in the United States for close to 18 years and had made a life here. She had excelled in school, went on to graduate from Harvard Law School, and began working at one of the most prestigious law firms in the country. Despite all of this, she was informed that her current visa will end in July and, should nothing else happen in the interim, she would be forced to leave the country in July to return to her home country of Venezuela—a country she has not lived in since she was four years old.

She is one of many people who has recently been informed that they may soon be forced to leave the US. The H-1B lottery program is frequently heavily oversubscribed, and companies that had won H-1B slots in the lottery were informed of this on March 31. Shortly after March 31, tens of thousands of people found themselves in the same position as my classmate. She is not the only the law firm associate to face this problem in 2020, and there will inevitably be many more law firm associates that may find themselves in her position over the coming years.

Even if she had won a H-1B visa in the lottery, her visa would only be valid for 3-6 years and then she would have to apply all over again and face the chance that she may have to leave the country.

For the many associates that have immigration needs, like my classmate, offering immigration benefits beyond helping them apply for a H-1B visa can be a crucial incentive for them. Until recently, offering a Green Card (EB-2 visa) or other visas as an incentive was too expensive and time consuming to be seriously considered by HR departments at law firms. Now, there are startups that have streamlined visa applications and are offering packages that should allow for law firms to seamlessly offer their employees an opportunity to apply for an EB-2 visa or other visas.

Legalpad—a Seattle based startup that specializes in filing O-1, B-1, H-1B, and EB-2 visas—has streamlined the EB-2 visa process and is now offering law firms a package that would allow them to sponsor and pay for the EB-2 visas of their associates with the aim of solving an expensive headache for associates and providing law firms a way to both retain and attract mid-level associates. Firms can either make monthly payments to Legalpad or one discounted upfront payment to secure a visa for their attorneys. Legalpad has streamlined the process by automating form filling, creating a dashboard to track the progress of the visa, creating intake and drafting tools that have simplified the user interface making it easy for applicants to give relevant information, and automating all payments.

Passright—a company that specializes in O-1 visa processing—has an offering that can help when associates find themselves in an emergency situation like my classmate (i.e. they lost the visa lottery and have months before they face deportation). Although O-1 visas are typically thought of being reserved for engineers and startup founders, the guidelines for an O-1 visa could allow for a viable case to be made for attorneys that fit the requirements. While this visa is being processed, you may remain in the country. The drawback to this situation is that working in the country while waiting for this visa to process may be tough or not possible.

Since law firms typically handle the initial H-1B filing, it is often a year or two before those visa holders are considering their immigration options again. At that point in their career, the associate will have become a highly sought after mid-level associate who could easily transfer law firms. Law firms offer a whole host of things from bonuses to more vacation days in an attempt to attract or retain mid-level associates, and outside of law firms offering immigration benefits to retain or attract talent is not uncommon. I currently sit as a Board Observer to Legalpad, and have noted during my diligence on them that many big tech companies, like Facebook, already offer immigration benefits and assistance to their employees.

I have spoken to other law firm associates who were waiting on their H-1B lottery results. The most common emotion they experienced while going through the H-1B lottery process was extreme anxiety spurred by total uncertainty. The uncertainty is understandable, since the immigration landscape changes rapidly, and sometimes by the hour, which is a pace that tech startups are well suited to keep up with. Fortunately, there are now legal tech startups that have streamlined visa processes and turned it into a benefit that is feasible for a law firm to offer their associates so they may never have to worry again about being forced to leave the country.

 

Samuel Garcia is a recent graduate of Harvard Law School and currently a Senior Associate at Amplo, a Venture Capital fund.