Agenda Item Name:
Title
Employment-Based Visas for current IT employees
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Presenter:
Heather Akpan- HR Director/Courtney Wilson- Sr. Assistant County Attorney
Kevin Smith-Director Information and Telecommunication Services/Ryan Evans Applications Manager
Description:
The IT department continues to be challenged with hiring for some IT positions and would like to enter the Employment Visa lottery to sponsor two current IT employees.
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approve entering the lottery and approval to hire special attorney Laura Cabrera, Esq. of George & Cabrera to handle the applications on behalf of the County.
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Prior Board Motions:
12/10/2019 - Commissioner Cornell moved to direct staff to create a policy for the Board to adopt and direct staff to expedite the matters with the two employees in Information Technology. Commissioner Cornell stated that a general direction for the policy is that a recommendation from the department to the County Manager that they need the use of such a policy should suffice. If the study comes back that the County is not paying the prevailing wage then it should come back to the Board to consider.
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
There will be a $20 application fee in total ($10 per application)
The Step Fees will occur if the county is selected and decides to move forward.
The fees applicable to Step 1 of the process are as follows:
a. Legal Fee: $1,300 per person
b. USCIS Fee: $10 registration fee per person
The fees applicable to Step 2 of the process are as follows:
a. Legal Fee: $1700 per person
b. USCIS Fee: $2,460
Salaries will be based upon the prevailing wage for these positions.
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Background:
We did enter the lottery in 2020 and were not chosen, we would like to attempt again in 2021 which is the last year of eligibility for these two employees. At this time we do not recommend pursuing a policy for prospective employees, but to narrow our focus to these incumbents.