Wall Street Still Finds Ways to Hire Foreigners
By ROBIN SIDEL
Some big U.S. banks that have received billions of dollars from the government are shipping some of their newest recruits overseas in order to comply with a federal law that restricts their ability to hire foreign workers for U.S. jobs.
Although some financial firms have rescinded job offers to such prospective employees, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley are offering international jobs to foreign students whom they have recruited from U.S. colleges and graduate schools. The new hires are being sent to global financial centers like London and Hong Kong.
The overall numbers affected by the restrictions are small, but the moves represent the banking industry's latest effort to deal with what they consider to be untenable consequences of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
"There are no U.S. immigration restrictions on people working outside the U.S., so anyone who wants to can have folks work in London versus New York," says Allen Erenbaum, a lawyer specializing in immigration issues at Mayer Brown LLP in Los Angeles.
Under the federal economic-stimulus package signed by President Obama in February, companies that receive TARP funds face additional hurdles before they can hire skilled foreign workers who need temporary work permits known as H-1B visas. Firms that have received government money must prove they have tried to recruit American workers for those jobs and that the foreigners aren't replacing U.S. citizens.
Bank executives have privately lambasted some of TARP's restrictions, particularly those that seek to limit compensation.
Some firms already are exploring loopholes that would allow them to raise base salaries in order to offset potential restrictions in bonus packages.
Restrictions on foreign workers have frustrated bank executives who compete to recruit students fresh out of college or graduate school. They say it is in the nation's interest for them to hire highly skilled foreigners who are educated in the U.S. rather than have non-U.S. companies benefit from their American training.
Such recruitment efforts are a Wall Street tradition, with firms establishing formal relationships with the U.S.'s top universities. Wall Street firms also use these programs to hire minority students from the U.S. and abroad.
Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman's chief executive, described the visa restrictions as "protectionist and self-defeating" in a speech this month to the Council of Institutional Investors.
"Especially at this time in our economy, do we really want to tell individuals who will help companies to grow and innovate -- ultimately creating more jobs -- that they should go work elsewhere?" Mr. Blankfein said.
About 50 of J.P. Morgan's 225,000 employees, or 3% of its graduating hires, are affected by the new restrictions, according to a person familiar with the matter. Most of them work in the firm's investment bank. Rather than rescind offers, J.P. Morgan is sending those new hires to London, São Paulo and Hong Kong, say people familiar with the bank's strategy. J.P. Morgan CEO James Dimon has said the firm, which received $25 billion under TARP, took the money after the government requested it to do so and would like to pay it back.
Less than 1% of Citigroup's roughly 300,000 U.S. employees hold H-1B visas, according to a person familiar with the situation. The firm, which has received $50 billion in TARP funds, is sending affected employees to assorted foreign locations based on factors such as the worker's specific skills and native language.
The firm "is exploring potential opportunities in our non-U.S. global operations for those who may be affected by the law," a Citi spokesman said.
A Goldman spokesman said the firm will ask recruits to work in other offices if they can't get a U.S. visa. "We will honor the offers we have made," he said.
Other companies are leaving it up to the prospective employee to pursue overseas jobs. A spokeswoman for Bank of America Corp. says the firm rescinded a small number of job offers to prospective employees who need H-1B visas, but "like anyone, these individuals are welcome to pursue opportunities with the company based outside of the U.S."
The visa restrictions are also proving to be nettlesome to hedge funds and other investors who may seek to participate in a government-backed program designed to stimulate credit markets. Those firms, too, may be subject to the limitations on H-1B visas under certain circumstances.
—David Enrich contributed to this article.Write to Robin Sidel at robin.sidel@wsj.com
No comments:
Post a Comment