S. legal system. Several of these issues are important to our firm. The first is that the expansion of the H1-B program allows us more flexibility to import talent from Pomodoro's overseas operations. As a multinational company, Pomodoro can add value to Thompson by virtue of information and technology transfer from such guest workers. The J-1 visa can be used for this purpose as well, on a more short-term basis.

On a practical basis, this law also means that we can staff key positions with guest workers in some of our scientific (product development) and it positions. Because H1-B workers can start immediately, they can essentially compete with domestic workers for the jobs, which expands our applicant pool. There is little oversight of the program to ensure that there are no qualified U.S. applicants.

However, there are negative optics to making too much use of the H1-B visa. Many high tech firms have come under fire for their extensive use of the visa. In our industry, extensive use would be especially visible, to both our employees and our competitors. As we are now foreign-owned, the optics would take a decidedly...

As a human resources department, we need to be aware of the extra costs associated with bringing in H1-B visa holders. They often need extra time to sort out their immigration issues; they have a period of cultural adjustment and many also have a language barrier as well. A full cost-benefit analysis should be undertaken before any H1-B program is put into effect.
The H1-B visa allows us greater flexibility in our hiring. As an international company, we have access to top talent from overseas, and we should take advantage of that opportunity. The foreign talent will help grow our operations, particularly with respect to it and product development. However, there are pitfalls to using the H1-B visa, including optics, adjustment period for the new workers, and the fact that quotas often run out before year-end. Overall, we are in support of the H1-B and recommend taking advantage of its provisions, but we will need a plan to mitigate the potential drawbacks of using H1-B workers.