South Bend’s High Skill Immigration Fund poised for big growth
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Just under a year ago, the city of South Bend launched an initiative designed to help businesses looking to hire highly skilled international employees.
The High Skill Immigration Fund was created to provide financial assistances for companies sponsoring H-1B visas, which Caleb Bauer, executive director of community investment for the city, said would help offset the risk associated with seeking a visa.
In the first year, the city awarded $24,000 in reimbursement costs for six visa applications from four companies; three of those applications were accepted.
Bauer told Inside INdiana Business that he expects the number of employers seeking assistance will dramatically increase in 2024.
“The H-1B application period is generally in the first quarter of the year. So when we launched this, we were pretty close to the application period. A lot of employers didn’t have a lot of time to get new, interested applicants lined up if this was their first time doing it,” said Bauer. “So though we’ve had six applications sponsored, we’ve had more than 40 employers interested in this process. They’ve come to workshops, they’ve learned more about the H-1B process.”
H-1B visas are given to workers in specialty occupations that requires “highly specialized knowledge” and at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The visas are awarded through a national lottery system, and the number of registrations for visas has nearly tripled just in the last few years.
The cost of sponsoring a candidate’s visa application can cost upwards of $6,000 to $8,000. The High Skill Immigration Fund provides up to $4,000 to help offset those costs.
Bauer said when the new application period opens up at the end of this month, he expects more employers to take advantage of the opportunity. He said it shows businesses are invested in finding new ways to grow the local talent pool and make South Bend a welcoming community.
“I think it’s a clear indication that employers are thinking creatively to solve the challenges of getting skilled workers, especially for technical fields, and H-1 visas are designed to help employers resolve some of those issues as it relates to having enough workers with the technical expertise that they need, as well,” he said. “I think it goes to show that employers are interested in having a diverse and inclusive workforce.”
The companies that received H-1B visas with the help of the High Skill Immigration Fund are engineering firm Jones Petrie Rafisnki, the South Bend Kroc Center, and tech company Trek10 Inc.
Bauer said having the ability to apply for and receive visas is just one part of an overall effort to address the skills gap and talent development for the city.
“I think Indiana’s economy and the national economy in general are in need of people with specific technical skills, and sometimes our local workforce or our state and national workforce isn’t comprised of enough folks with the right skills to meet those needs,” he said. “So, it’s about bringing folks in that can help solve those those issues but also at the same time, building the training pipelines and the educational pipelines, that we are providing the opportunity for local employees to get those skills as well. So I think it’s a combination of things.”
You can connect to more information on the city’s High Skill Immigration Fund by clicking here.