With 35 companies willing to hire H-1B visa holders, Chicago is working to attract recently laid-off foreign tech workers. This is seen as a competitive advantage for employers in the city and suburbs of Chicago. Employers are working with the city and P33, a nonprofit organization developed by former Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker. A new website, TechChicago, provides roles available for H-1B holders and others.
Chicago has long been working to become a technology hub. City leadership recognized that layoffs for H-1B holders are particularly hard, given the short time to find a new role and the related costs. Several civic organizations, including the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Executives’ Club of Chicago, and 1871, a nonprofit business incubator, all banned together to create the TechChicago website, consolidating job listings for companies open to hiring H-1B visa holders, foreign tech workers.
One of the benefits of the new website is the specification that the company is open to hiring H-1B visa holders. Often, job listings do not specify if the employer is open to a transfer or initial hiring of a foreign worker.
Chicago continues to deal with ongoing crime issues and some recent corporate departures. However, the city is positioning itself as a welcoming, diverse, and friendly city, and turning that into a competitive advantage to attract talent. With an estimated 40% of all software engineers in the U.S. born outside the U.S., there is clearly a need for companies to be open to hiring and sponsoring H-1B visa professionals.
If you have questions about the H-1B visa, either as a hiring company or as an individual, contact us at ILBSG. We have extensive experience working with companies of all sizes to make the process as simple as possible, ensuring the individual is cared for and informed throughout the process.
