Helping Companies Bring Global Talent to the US With Bennett Savitz

December 18, 2024 | Written by Gladiator Law Marketing

Bennett Savitz is the Managing Attorney at Savitz Law Offices, a business immigration firm that provides immigration services to clients in the US and internationally. With over 30 years of experience exclusively in immigration law, he has served on key committees of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and taught business immigration law at New England Law School. Bennett frequently authors articles and speaks on immigration topics, offering deep insights into navigating the complexities of US immigration systems.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[01:32] Bennett Savitz shares why he chose a career in law and how he discovered his passion for immigration law
[03:25] What makes Savitz Law Offices unique in the field of business immigration
[4:40] The biggest challenges facing businesses in obtaining visas for foreign talent
[06:52] Bennett’s advice for companies looking to hire foreign talent
[10:40] How Bennett and his team helped scientists during the pandemic
[11:55] What qualities make an effective immigration attorney?
[14:07] Common misconceptions and mistakes companies make with visa applications
[16:30] How to deal with visa denials or delays

In this episode…

For businesses aiming to stay competitive in a global economy, securing top talent often means looking beyond borders. But what happens when outdated immigration systems and legal complexities stand in the way of hiring the people you need? How can companies navigate these obstacles to bring global talent into the US workforce?

According to Bennett Savitz, an immigration attorney with over 30 years of experience, the key lies in planning ahead and understanding the intricacies of the process. He highlights that US immigration laws, largely unchanged since 1990, create inefficiencies and bottlenecks for businesses retaining foreign talent. By focusing on proactive strategies and leveraging automated systems, companies can mitigate the pain points caused by bureaucratic delays and quotas. Bennett underscores the importance of collaboration between legal counsel and employers, ensuring compliance while optimizing outcomes for both businesses and their employees.

In this episode of 15 Minutes, host Chad Franzen is joined by Bennett Savitz, Managing Attorney at Savitz Law Offices, to discuss how companies can overcome barriers in hiring global talent. Bennett shares the challenges of navigating outdated immigration laws, the importance of visa application planning, and the critical role foreign professionals play in STEM fields. He also provides advice for employers on retaining top talent while staying compliant with immigration regulations.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments

“I like being in charge; I like running things, which is why I opened my own office in 2000.”
“Helping both employers and employees make significant changes in their lives is why I still get satisfaction out of immigration law.”
“The law that creates this whole business immigration system was created in 1990 and has not been significantly updated since.”
“Planning ahead is what’s required because you can’t just make an offer and expect to onboard someone a month later.”
“Saying no actually is better for everybody if it’s a case that’s not going to go through.”

Action Steps

Stay informed on policy changes: Regularly update yourself on shifts in immigration policies and procedures, as they can vary with different administrations. This awareness allows you to advise clients accurately and helps you adapt strategies to align with current regulations.
Plan ahead for visa applications: Encourage clients to plan early when considering hiring foreign talent. This proactive approach is crucial due to the outdated and cumbersome nature of immigration laws, helping to avoid last-minute issues and delays.
Invest in automated systems: Develop or utilize automated systems to streamline immigration processes, reducing the administrative burden on your practice and speeding up application handling. This efficiency is vital in navigating the complex and bureaucratic US immigration system.
Focus on building expertise and specialization: Specialize in a niche area of immigration law, such as business immigration, to develop a deep understanding and expertise. This focus allows you to provide tailored solutions and maintain a competitive edge in the legal market.
Communicate clearly with clients: Practice clear and honest communication about what is possible and what is not under current immigration laws. This transparency helps manage client expectations and builds trust, ensuring satisfaction with your services even in a complex and dynamic immigration landscape.

Sponsor for this episode…

This episode is brought to you by Gladiator Law Marketing, where we deliver tailor-made services to help you accomplish your objectives and maximize your growth potential.

To have a successful marketing campaign and make sure you’re getting the best ROI, your firm needs to have a better website and better content. At Gladiator Law Marketing, we use artificial intelligence, machine learning, and decades of experience to outperform the competition.

To learn more, go to gladiatorlawmarketing.com or schedule a free marketing consultation. You can also send an email to ad**@gl*******************.com .

Episode Transcript

Intro 00:01

You’re listening to 15 Minutes, where we feature community leaders sharing what the rest of us should know, but likely don’t.

Chad Franzen 01:27

Hi, Chad Franzen here, one of the hosts of Share Your Voice, where we get to talk with top notch law firms and lawyers about what it takes to grow a successful law practice. This episode is brought to you by Gladiator Law Marketing, delivering tailor made services to help you accomplish your objectives and maximize your growth potential. To have a successful marketing campaign and make sure you’re getting the best ROI, your firm needs to have a better website and better content. Gladiator Law Marketing uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and decades of experience to outperform the competition. To learn more, go to GladiatorLawMarketing.Com where you can schedule a free marketing consultation. My guest today is Bennett Savitz, Managing Attorney at Savitz Law Offices, a business immigration firm in Boston since 1994. He has practiced exclusively in immigration law and has served on various committees of the American Immigration Lawyers Association shaping policies and procedures for the entire Immigration Bar from 2008 onward. Bennett has been recognized as one of Boston’s Best Lawyers in Immigration Law by Best Lawyers of America. He has also taught business immigration law at the New England Law School, and frequently speaks and authors articles on various aspects of immigration law. Hey, Bennett, thank you so much for joining me today. How are you?

Bennett Savitz 01:25

Great. Thank you.

Chad Franzen 01:27

Hey, tell me, how and when did you know that you wanted to become an attorney?

Bennett Savitz 01:32

So I went straight to law school after undergrad. And so, you know, being a political science major in college and being interested in in those things, I knew pretty early on that law school was going to be the path. I did not know about immigration law at the time, but I did know that it was going to be some kind of law.

Chad Franzen 01:50

So how did you get into practicing immigration law? You’ve done it for obviously about 30 years now. Did you do that?

Bennett Savitz 01:57

So I was always interested in international relations as a specific part of my studies. And so when I went to Boston University for law school, I did a dual degree with a master’s in international relations. And so I was looking to combine those those two interests. And in looking into the areas of law that combine those two things, when I came across immigration law, that was the one that I was most interested in, and I thought it kind of was a good blend of my international relations and law interests.

Chad Franzen 02:27

So having done it for 30 years now, what is most kind of still attractive about about this field of law?

Bennett Savitz 02:34

So I think the, the thing that I’ve always the reason I was drawn to it in the first place, and the reason why I still get satisfaction out of doing it, is you’re really helping both employers and employees make significant changes in their lives, right? The employers need to hire these folks to grow the economy, and they’re usually hiring people in the Stem fields science, technology, engineering and math, the fields where we don’t have enough US workers to fill all the jobs that we have. So it’s helping those employers. It’s helping grow the US economy. And then of course, you’re helping these foreign nationals be able to start a new life in the US for them and their families. And so it’s usually it’s a great win win.

Chad Franzen 03:14

So as I mentioned, Savitz Law Offices is a business immigration law firm. What kind of sets you guys apart? What do you what do you guys do in with respect to immigration law?

Bennett Savitz 03:25

So I think the two things that are different is immigration law, even though it sounds very specific, focuses on a lot of different things. There’s family immigration, there’s immigration court work, there’s asylum, things like that. Business immigration is is its own specialty. And so we focus only on that. So not only do we only do business immigration, but we only are hired by the employers.So we represent the employers who have identified these foreign nationals who they either want to hire or retain. And we work with them specifically in order to get them permission to hire these folks in the first place, or to get them green cards to keep them here permanently. And so because of that specific focus and specialty and expertise, we’ve developed these automated systems that we use to streamline the process for these employers. So when we go through this process, there’s a bunch of online questionnaires and automated processes that makes the process as quick and painless as possible, even though it is a pretty slow and painful process because the government makes it that way. But we try to make it as quick and painless as the government will allow us to do.

Chad Franzen 04:35

What are some of the biggest challenges facing businesses in obtaining visas for foreign talent?

Bennett Savitz 04:40

So the biggest one, and this is something that surprises a lot of people, is that the law that creates this whole business immigration system was created back in 1990 and has not been significantly updated since. So we’re talking about a law that even predates my practicing immigration law, which is, like you said, been for over 30 years. And because of that, of course, it’s outdated. It doesn’t really work as well as it as it should, or even close to as well as it should. And so it’s just very inefficient. So the challenge is, are helping employers and their employees get through a system that is just not designed or equipped or updated to meet the modern needs of anybody.

Chad Franzen 05:23

What is it about the system that is so tedious?

Bennett Savitz 05:27

So the two big pain points are the fact that one, it’s a big government bureaucracy, right? The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is tasked with doing all of these applications and all of these processes, and it’s just they’re overwhelmed. And so the backlogs are tremendous. And the bureaucracy of getting through all of this and processing all of these things is tremendous. But then on top of that, we have all these outdated and artificial quotas, and that creates a scarcity and a competition that shouldn’t exist. Had they had Congress ever been able to update or modernize our system since 1990, which they have not done. So those two things put together make this always a constant struggle and challenge to get things done.

Chad Franzen 06:12

So the system seems like it’s antiquated, but do immigration laws and policies keep changing?

Bennett Savitz 06:18

So the the policies themselves, the way they implement the same antiquated laws that we’re dealing with, do change from administration to administration and from from time to time. But again, there’s only so much they can do. They can tinker at the margins. They can instruct the immigration service to prioritize certain things or look at certain things, but they can’t change what the law says or the regulations say. So you’re still pretty much going back to being stuck with that old antiquated system over and over again.

Chad Franzen 06:48

What advice would you give companies looking to hire foreign talent?

Bennett Savitz 06:52

So I would say that planning ahead is what’s required, because what happens is a lot of times we get contacted by an employer who, you know, understandably hasn’t dealt with this system enough to understand that they can’t just make an offer for somebody and then expect to onboard them a month later. There’s a process that has to be gone through that is, again, a slower, more complicated process because of these limitations of the laws, limitations of the bureaucracy. So planning ahead is the most important thing. Reaching out to somebody and asking, ideally before you make an offer, even if you’re thinking of making an offer. But certainly as soon as you know that this might be an issue, so that you can understand what the process is going to be and what it’s going to involve.

Chad Franzen 07:35

Is there a immigration case that you’ve worked on that’s particularly memorable that you’re able to share with us?

Bennett Savitz 07:41

Yeah. So one of the things that I really like doing is when we have these companies who are looking to start up an entity in the US, because in this case, they’ve often been companies that have been operating abroad. And again, they don’t have to be big company. They can be family owned businesses and they want to expand into the US, and they want to then bring themselves and or some of their employees into the US. And so what we like doing is helping them through that process, where they open up a new business in the US. They’re able to start it off with themselves and or some employees. But then most importantly, they’re doing this in order to again expand the business in the US and hire US workers, which then grows the economy and is a win for everybody. So we’ve seen lots of interesting businesses open in the US for that purpose, and it can be anything it doesn’t have to be limited to, for example, these Stem fields that I primarily deal with with the existing US employers. But when you’re talking about these new companies opening up a branch in the US or a subsidiary in the US, it could literally be for anything. So that’s always fun.

Chad Franzen 08:48

Did Savitz Law Offices open in 1994?

Bennett Savitz 08:53

So we know we opened in 2000. So I’ve been practicing since 1994. And then was an employee at the various places before I opened my own office in 2000.

Chad Franzen 09:03

How did your own office come about?

Bennett Savitz 09:06

So I’ve been doing again immigration law in not just business. Immigration law before. So then when I finally migrated to doing just business. Immigration law in the 1990s, late 1990s and realized that’s what I like to do. Then it was a matter of deciding, okay, this is what I want to do. How do I want to do it? And so I started by trying a few different things, had a partner for a little while, and then it just became clear to me that I like being in charge. I like running things. And so basically opened my own office in 2000. And that’s the way I’ve preferred to to practice ever since.

Chad Franzen 09:41

Was there something about, you know, going from being an employee to an employer and an attorney that was particularly eye opening?

Bennett Savitz 09:49

Yeah. The the part about being the employer or being in charge of everything and the administrative pieces, that was, you know, something I didn’t have any experience with and certainly didn’t know what to expect. So, you know, that part of it, not just getting to do the cases and Practice law took a while for me to understand that that was just as important component of running your own practice as doing the cases, but again, I preferred being in charge, and so I was happy to learn those things and do those things in order to be in charge of the whole practice. And so, you know, little by little, you know, once I did that, then I realized, okay, this is still better than, than the alternatives that I’ve been through before.

Chad Franzen 10:32

You know, so, so in the past, you know, 20 plus years with Savitz Law Offices, is there an accomplishment or a moment that you’re maybe most proud of?

Bennett Savitz 10:40

Yeah, I would say during Covid, you know, there was a lot of demand for scientists and researchers who were working on whether it was Covid treatments or even the vaccines and things like that. And there was a huge demand for these folks. And as I mentioned before, we just don’t have enough us educated people in these fields to fill all the jobs, especially that explosion of jobs that that were needed at that time. And so we were able to help bring in a bunch of doctors and researchers and get them permission to work in the US. And in particular, the one that I’m thinking of is this expert doctor from the UK who was working on Covid treatments and and potential medications there, who then got an offer to work in the US and became instrumental in the fight to, to to to develop new treatments and the vaccines for Covid. And so we were able to get a lot of people permission to help that cause and, you know, grow as you know, a lot of these companies in the US that have continued to work on a lot of these advancements.

Chad Franzen 11:48

Great. What what what kind of qualities do you think make an effective immigration attorney?

Bennett Savitz 11:55

So I think it’s it’s mostly the the ability to analyze a case from all aspects. So, you know, the more you you’ve been doing this, the more experience you have. You get used to analyzing these cases and looking at all the angles and trying to come up with strategies that maybe not or would not be apparent from the first glance, or just the initial facts. And so you have to really delve in to understand the employer, the job, the foreign national and their qualifications to try to come up with what are the best possible solutions. One of the reasons I like running my own practice is because my clients have access to me and have the ability to to troubleshoot these things directly with me, rather than in some of these other practices that are a little bigger, where you don’t necessarily have access to the partner or the person who’s at that level, and you may not be able to to discuss some of these more complicated issues and come up with with strategies that will work.

Chad Franzen 12:53

I know it’s it’s more of a global workforce, I guess, now than probably it’s ever been. Have you seen an increase in demand for remote worker visas?

Bennett Savitz 13:02

Absolutely. Yeah. So Covid really changed a lot, right. So you know, prior to to to 2020, we were still doing mostly the traditional hiring somebody to work full time at an office and, you know, a specific location, and we would get them permission to do that. Starting in 2020, of course, when once everything shut down, now people were able to to start working from not only their homes because out of necessity, but but literally anywhere. And so from that point forward, a lot of these jobs have shifted where you’re now doing cases for people who literally can be anywhere in the US doing their job. And so that creates a very different dynamic. And you have to be able to adapt to that. Having said that, again, biotech, for example, and lab work and research, those jobs never have changed because they have to be done in person in a in a lab or in an office every day. So some things have changed dramatically. Some things are still the same.

Chad Franzen 14:01

Are there any common kind of misconceptions or maybe common mistakes that companies make with visa applications?

Bennett Savitz 14:07

Yeah, I think one of the biggest one is that, you know, if an employer wants to hire somebody, that there’s always a quick and easy solution to get them on board. And unfortunately, again, because of the 1990 antiquated laws that we’re working with, there are some cases that you just can’t do at all. But but even the cases that you can do often require a lot more time and a lot more difficulty than employers think. And so employers again, really just need to plan ahead as much as they can. That’s that’s really the main I think misconception is when when when I, you know, I’m used to going over all of this because I’ve been doing it for so long. But every time I explain to employers what they have to do and they’re always just, their eyes glaze over and they can’t believe it. It reminds me of how ridiculous it is that this system is still the same, and it hasn’t been fixed, but it’s unfortunately the, you know, a surprise to the employer every time because that’s the way it is.

Chad Franzen 15:09

Is that an explanation to those employers, something that you’ve had to like, you know, shape over time?

Bennett Savitz 15:16

Yeah. Because I’ve again, I have to I have to make sure that I’m not I mean, it’s easy for me to become cynical and, you know, immune to that because I just have dealt with it. I know how the system doesn’t work. And so I have to make sure that I’m explaining it to the employers in a way that I’m expressing my frustration that they are feeling, that they that I sympathize with them because I understand that this isn’t the system we want. This isn’t the way it should be. Unfortunately, it is the way it is, and this is how we have to deal with it.

Chad Franzen 15:47

So how do you advise clients on kind of just maintaining compliance?

Bennett Savitz 15:52

Yeah. So basically that comes down to, you know, a really good system of handling and knowing what the regulations are, what the requirements are. And again, the automated systems that we have in place to convey everything to the employer as to what they need to do to comply. And so that’s all built into the these processes. So it’s not just getting through the process and getting that person onboarded. It’s also making sure that they’re doing it in a way that they’re going to be compliant with all of the laws and regulations currently and in the future.

Chad Franzen 16:26

How do you deal with visa denials or delays?

Bennett Savitz 16:30

So the the the delays are the hardest part because the delays are the things that, again, are often due to a bureaucracy. Now there are certain things that, you know, we can we can push on. There are certain things that are in the guidance that we can use for expediting cases, and for trying to push things through a little faster. There are other things where you’re dealing with, again, a bureaucratic process where there is none of that available. And so it’s more of a matter of managing those expectations and planning for those delays so that you can deal with them properly. The denials fortunately, we can overcome more easily because again, we only take cases that we know that we can get approved eventually through the system because they’re eligible. So even if there’s a hiccup or a problem, we then know how to fix that and get that done.

Chad Franzen 17:25

Is there a lot of maintenance that you have to do regarding helping your clients retain top foreign talent?

Bennett Savitz 17:33

Absolutely. Yeah. So because of the way that this process works, you know, an employer has to go through a lot of time and effort and expense to get these people onboarded and therefore they of course, have an interest then in keeping that talent. And there are some strategies specifically with regards to the transition from temporary permission to work in the US to the permanent green card side of things, where when an employer starts that process for an employee, it creates an incentive for that employee to stay, because if they leave, they lose out on that process. So by putting these strategies in place and these policies in place that we help employers come up with, it helps them retain the talent that they’ve gone through all of the time and effort to, to to get in the first place.

Chad Franzen 18:20

Is an immigration courtroom, a place that you often find yourself.

Bennett Savitz 18:24

So fortunately for what I do know. So there are people who do immigration court work, and it’s great work and it’s important work, but that is not part of the business immigration landscape. So for business immigration, which is far more again, dealing with the immigration service bureaucracy, it’s all done either online or through the mail. There’s no in-person component. So so the good news is I have clients from all over the world because it’s not location specific and I don’t have to go anywhere to do it. So we just can do everything over zoom, email and the like.

Chad Franzen 19:00

Okay. Sounds good. Hey, I have one more question for you, but first tell me how people can find out more about Savage’s law offices.

Bennett Savitz 19:06

Yeah. So the first place I would recommend people go is to our website, immigrationoptions.com. So that’s our website where we update frequently with news. You can see my almost daily tweets on new immigration news and things that are happening. It also has all the contact information to get in touch with us. But and importantly, it has a lot of information on all of these things. So, you know, I’m talking about the very general immigration law business immigration law process that gets broken down into very specific processes, all of which are explained on our website.

Chad Franzen 19:43

So I know you have taught business immigration law at New England Law School. If one of those, you know, students came to you and said, okay, this is, you know, I’m sold, this is the field that I’m going to go into. What could you tell them, that maybe you just learned that you have to learn through experience and that they wouldn’t learn necessarily in class?

Bennett Savitz 20:00

Yeah. So so the one thing that I yeah, it’s always surprising to students as well, how the system is so old and antiquated as well because I, you know, and I like teaching every every year. I do this class annually, and it’s a good reminder to kind of step back and realize how, oh yeah, this isn’t a system, that the way it should be. This is, you know, an antiquated system the way it is. The one thing that I’m always telling students is that you have to be prepared to tell a client what can work and what can’t. It doesn’t do you any good to offer to file something for a client that you know isn’t going to work, because they’re not going to be happy at the end, and you’re not going to be happy helping to file something that isn’t going to work. And so it’s it’s knowing what to what, what can and can’t be done. And advising a client upfront about those things. You’re only going to have a happy client if you can tell them upfront what you can and can’t do. And a lot of times you need to experience that because especially for new lawyers, they want to come out and say yes to everybody, right? They want to say yes to everything and help everybody, but it’s really not helping if you’re ultimately not going to get somebody approved.

Chad Franzen 21:13

How long before you kind of fully grasp that?

Bennett Savitz 21:17

Oh, it was years. It was definitely years. Because in the beginning, especially when you’re, you know, you’re you’re starting out and you want to just take everything that comes in because you, you’re anxious to, to get going and do as much work as you can and get as much experience as you can. It took a while for me to realize that, oh, saying no actually is better for everybody. If it’s a case that’s not going to go through and you only learn that unfortunately, I think like you were saying through experience the hard way when it doesn’t work out and then you realize after the fact, oh, I probably just should have said no upfront to this one.

Chad Franzen 21:51

Yeah, I could definitely see that. Hey Bennett, it’s been great to talk to you. Thank you so much. Very interesting and I appreciate your time and all of your insights. Thank you so long, everybody.

Outro 21:54

Thanks for listening to 15 Minutes. Be sure to subscribe and we’ll see you next time.

Helping Companies Bring Global Talent to the US With Bennett Savitz

Helping Companies Bring Global Talent to the US With Bennett Savitz

Page Topics

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

In this episode…

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments

Action Steps

Sponsor for this episode…

Episode Transcript