Employers across the US are at risk of losing talent. Every year, over 200,000 skilled immigrant workers apply for the H-1B lottery, which only grants 85,000 opportunities to apply, and doesn’t guarantee anything – leaving many skilled workers in a state of constant limbo.
How can you keep your highly-skilled workers stable, happy, and productive? Consider moving them to Canada. With a PEO (Professional Employer Organization), like Syndesus, you can easily keep your H-1B workers on staff where they continue to work for you north of the border.
We sat down with Syndesus Founder Marc Pavlopoulos to learn more.
Q: Marc, why do so many highly skilled employees leave the United States every year?
Answer: There are multiple reasons why thousands of highly skilled tech workers have to leave the US every year.
First, perhaps after a few tries, they haven’t gotten selected for the H-1B lottery. Some, who are nearing the end of their visa and have not achieved the lottery try a different option, they re-enroll at an American school to pick up a master’s degree or a Ph.D., at the end of which they can get another job and apply again for H-1B. The challenge with that is they’re running up more student debt.
I look at all the hard work people have done to get to the US, get into the best schools so they can get good jobs. These people are doing everything right, playing by the rules and trying to live the American dream, and it’s just taken away due to any of these scenarios.
The other situation where things could go wrong is if someone is stuck at one company and they are unhappy there. That person would have to find another company to sponsor their H-1B work visa to be able to switch jobs.
Third, they may be working at a company and everything’s great, but the company is under financial difficulty, something goes wrong, there are layoffs, jobs are lost, etc. If that person doesn’t quickly find another company to sponsor their H-1B work visa, they must leave the US
Finally, you can have your H-1B, then US immigration comes back and asks for requests for evidence. If they don’t agree with something, there’s often the scenario where the H-1B could be revoked.
I look at all the hard work people have done to get to the US, get into the best schools so they can get good jobs, These people are doing everything right, playing by the rules and trying to live the American dream, and it’s just taken away due to any of these scenarios.
It’s a very challenging system we have in the US and it’s unfair to a lot of people who are trying to build their lives and stay here.
Q: Why do you think some H-1B workers are unhappy and might want to quit?
Answer: They are in a constant state of uncertainty.
For example, permanent residence in the US is by country. There are people from India who have 30, 40, even 50-year waits.
Let me share an example of a tech worker in the US who is on an H-1B and how he felt about the H-1B process and dealing with the uncertainty. I use the word ‘uncertainty’ because I borrowed it from him – it’s a word he used throughout my conversation with him.
He said to me: “Marc, I want to live in a way where I can not have to have these worries day after day, every year. It hangs on you. It weighs on you.”
This individual recounted his experience of coming to the US four years ago, and how he was very happy to do so. Then the challenges began –his job was not working out, he felt like at any moment, his livelihood and his chance to stay in the US could be taken away. He referred to how hard he worked, his grades, and everything he’d done.
But he kept coming back to that phrase: “I feel uncertain.”
He said: “My company fought so hard to get my H-1B, I very much appreciate that.”
But he was living in this state for years and years on end because he acknowledged he’s not going to have a Green Card for decades.
He referred to the toll it took on his mental health, sense of happiness, and sense of stability, you know: “Do I buy a home? Do I build a life?”
That’s why the word “uncertainty” was perfect. It defined a situation that so many people face.
He said to me: “Marc, I want to live in a way where I can not have to have these worries day after day, every year. It hangs on you. It weighs on you.”
And I completely understood. The US immigration system is not set up to help you be stable, long-term in the US
Q: Is Canada an option to relocate a highly skilled employee who is at risk of losing their visa?
Answer: Canada is an option for relocating tech workers in the US who are on H-1B or OPT.
A few years back, Canada realized they had a shortage of engineers. They created their own version of an H-1B and called it Global Talent Stream.
It is nothing like an H-1B though. Canada’s goal is fast and efficient. From start to finish the application is usually turned around and approved in 30-60 days.
To qualify, there are a few factors: You have to have a tech degree, you have to have tech work experience, and you have to have a job offer from a Canadian tech company that’s been in business for over a year.
The cost is lower and the timeframe is dramatically faster.
As an approved Canadian employer through Global Talent Stream, Syndesus can help American companies relocate skilled employees who are at risk of losing their US visas.
Syndesus is a Canadian PEO (Professional Employer Organization) similar to an Employer of Record. We have the right to employ workers in Canada and bring in a certain number of immigrant tech workers via Global Talent Stream.
We have conversations with US tech companies all the time, and sponsor tech workers who can’t stay in the US Your engineer who’s part of your company, who’s a respected member of your team, can still work for you. They’re just across the border. They’re in Vancouver, or they’re in Toronto, doing the same job, with the same title, and the same role, they’re just legally employed by Syndesus.
We’ll handle all the legality in Canada and sponsor their work visa.
It’s a solution that allows you to keep the best people on your team in easy proximity to the US
Q: My highly valued employee is on an OPT or H-1B Visa that is expiring soon. How can I keep them employed with my American company?
Answer: Many US companies are facing a significant challenge with retaining employees.
Unfortunately, there will be a lot of bad news delivered for the foreign-born tech employees that are waiting for a result from the H-1B lottery.
Fortunately, there is a solution for employing your tech worker longer term, which is to relocate them to Canada.
Think of your worker that can’t stay in the US – you can utilize Syndesus. We will take on the sponsorship of their work visa. We’ll employ them long term. We can move them and relocate them to Canada for you.
In two to three months, that valued team member is working across the border wherever is geographically a good fit for your US company. It’s a perfect solution for a very challenging problem.
Q: What’s in it for your prized employee if you relocate them to Canada?
Answer: So, say you’re at the point where you did your research and discovered that Global Talent Stream is a great solution for your tech worker in the US
Maybe they’ve had a tough time. They’re making a big life commitment; they’re moving to a new country. How are things going to work out for them?
Canada basically lays out the Yellow Brick Road. Their Global Talent Stream work visas are approved in one to two months, and the visa is good for two years.
To give you an example: I spoke to a US tech company where one of their top-tier engineers was from Ukraine. They couldn’t stay in the US, and they bought into Global Talent Stream. After being in the US for eight years, the tech worker couldn’t stay, and they were deeply frustrated. They thought they’d done everything right.
We knew we could get them into Canada.
Canada basically lays out the Yellow Brick Road. Their Global Talent Stream work visas are approved in one to two months, and the visa is good for two years.
Your tech worker then moves to Canada immediately, they start working for you on their first day in the country.
Within one to two years, that worker can get Canadian permanent residence. They have a legal right to stay in Canada for the rest of their life. In one shot, they’ve got two things that have eluded them in the US: 1. a work visa, that can’t be taken away, and 2. permanent residence. They’re taken care of.
As a PEO (Professional Employer Organization) or Employer of Record, we handle everything from their work visas to employing them for you long term. You don’t have to have a corporation in Canada.
It’s not just about you taking care of keeping a prized member of your staff – someone who’s very important to your company. You’re giving this person hope. You’re putting them in a position where their future is assured.
They’ve been living for years in the US with uncertainty. You can help put them into a much better work and life situation by utilizing this relocation approach to Canada.
Q: So as a recap, what is Global Talent Stream and how can US companies leverage it for their organization?
Answer: Global Talent Stream is Canada’s version of an H-1B. It’s a work visa program that Canada constructed to bring thousands of tech workers to Canada.
Here’s how the program works:
- to qualify, you have to be a technical engineer, software engineer, or hardware engineer;
- you have to have a tech degree;
- you have to have tech work experience;
- and lastly, you have to have a job offer from a Canadian company.
So, from a US perspective, you’re like: “That’s great. What a great work visa program. But we’re here in the US We don’t have a Canadian corporation that’s been in place for a year or more.”
How you access this program is through a PEO like Syndesus. We are an approved vendor for Global Talent Stream. We can allow you to relocate your US tech workers, OPT, people on H-1B who can’t stay long term to Canada.
We will apply for Global Talent Stream. We’ll get the approval. We can legally employ them long-term for you as well.
This allows you to relocate tech workers you’re about to lose. They keep working for you with the same job, they’re just north of the border. It’s a great solution to a challenge a lot of US tech companies are facing right now.
Q: Why did you build a company helping skilled immigrants in the US move to Canada?
Answer: One of the great pleasures I derive from having this company is the ability to help people.
I understand immigration systems in the US and Canada. I’m an American that’s lived in both countries. So, I understand what it’s like to be in Canada showing up there with a work visa, or a student visa, and building a career.
You get to see people on a personal level and understand their stories, like what brought them from India, what brought them from China, what brought them from Russia, and you see everything they’ve been through.
I’ve worked in Silicon Valley for decades. I’ve worked for VC-backed tech companies with a lot of immigrants who came to the US I’ve listened to their stories. I watched them start companies. They’ve become my friends.
You get to see people on a personal level and understand their stories, like what brought them from India, what brought them from China, what brought them from Russia, and you see everything they’ve been through.
I saw my friends doing everything right. As an American, I look at that and think: that’s awesome and it’s inspiring.
And then I saw what happens when they run into the brick wall of US immigration and work visa policy around H-1B’s. I realized this is not fair at all. Furthermore, it’s extremely damaging to the US
I feel lucky that I’ve learned about what can happen in Canada. I’ve learned about their immigration system. Canada has very innovative work visa programs to help immigrants come to their country. I feel fortunate to be in a position where I can help people find a way to Canada, and introduce them to a system that I view as much more fair, egalitarian, and helpful to them.
If your company is navigating the challenges of retaining skilled tech talent on expiring H-1B or OPT visas, Syndesus can help. By leveraging Canada’s Global Talent Stream program and our expertise as a PEO, we make it simple for you to retain your valued employees. Reach out to Syndesus today to explore how we can assist your organization in keeping your top talent, providing them with stability, and ensuring they thrive in a supportive environment north of the border.
