Does My Employee Need a Visa for Travel?
By Greg Berk
Some employees frequently need to travel abroad. Managing that process can be important, particularly for those who are working for your company pursuant to visa sponsorship and require a valid visa to re-enter the United States. Failure to follow proper protocols can result in the employee being refused a new visa or being denied admission at the U.S. port of entry.
For visa purposes, your workforce can be divided up into four categories: U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents (also known as green card holders), foreign nationals who are working for you pursuant to company sponsorship, and foreign nationals that have work authorization independent from your company.
U.S. Citizens do not need a visa to travel temporarily abroad for business or pleasure to many countries – including most of Western Europe, Canada, Mexico, and many other countries. However, it is very important to check before sending that U.S. Citizen employee abroad.
Lawful permanent residents (green card holders) would need a visa to visit most countries, but would not need one to return to the U.S.
Foreign nationals that are employed pursuant to sponsorship by your company will frequently need a visa to visit countries abroad other than their home country. And in most instances, they would require a visa to return to the U.S. The most common visa categories your foreign national employees may need to obtain at a U.S. Consulate abroad include H-1B professionals, L-1 managers, L-1 specialized knowledge workers, F-1 university graduates working on optional practical training (OPT), and E investors.
Whether your employee will require a visa to travel abroad or to re-enter the U.S. can be a complex question. And if they do need a visa from a U.S. Consulate abroad, strict documentation requirements apply as well.
We therefore suggest that prior to any overseas travel by potentially impacted employees, you contact the CDF Immigration Practice Group to make sure "all the ducks are in a row." For more information, contact attorney Greg Berk, Chair of the Practice Group, at gberk@cdflaborlaw.com or (949) 387-6999.