Beyond the Visa: Why Global Companies Need a Talent Mobility Strategy Before ICE Comes Knocking
Two Urgent Consultations, One Common Failure
Over the past few weeks, we have received urgent consultations from several large companies expanding overseas. They come from different industries, yet the problems are strikingly similar.
At one company, a core executive had long traveled to the U.S. on a B-1/B-2 visa to conduct business. On a recent entry, customs officers determined that his actual activities exceeded the scope of a business visit. The executive was refused entry on the spot and sent back, and the entire U.S. project had to be adjusted on an emergency basis.
Another company faced an even greater challenge. Because of problems in past visa applications, the visas of some employees already working in the U.S. were affected. The company had to reorganize its U.S. team, revise its business plans, and invest substantial time and cost to deal with the fallout.
These consultations left a deep impression on me. Many companies spend years building their U.S. market, investing enormous capital, teams, and resources. Yet what ultimately holds back their growth is often not the product, not the market, and not the technology. It is the piece most easily overlooked — immigration compliance and global talent mobility planning.
Enforcement Is Intensifying — the Georgia Wake-Up Call
Meanwhile, the United States has been steadily intensifying immigration enforcement in recent years. In 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a large-scale worksite enforcement action at a large Korean-owned battery plant in Georgia. According to public reports, approximately 475 workers were detained, of whom roughly 300 were Korean nationals — making it one of the largest worksite immigration enforcement actions in the U.S. in recent years.
The shock was not limited to Korean companies. It forced every company investing, building plants, and sending employees to the U.S. to rethink one question: what a company truly needs to manage has never been a single visa. It is the entire global talent mobility system.
The "Order-Taking" Model of Immigration Counsel Is Obsolete
Many companies think an immigration lawyer's job is simply this: I need an L-1, you file the L-1; I need an H-1B, you file the H-1B; I need a PERM, you prepare the PERM. The lawyer receives the request, submits the application, and the case is closed.
But I believe this model can no longer meet the needs of today's globalizing enterprises. A truly excellent immigration law firm should not be a service provider that passively executes filings. It should be a leader in the company's globalization strategy.
Lawyers should not wait for HR to tell them what to file. They should proactively tell the company: which employees should apply for L-1 now rather than continue relying on business visas; which positions should be positioned early for H-1B; which managers are suited for EB-1C down the road; which employees need permanent residency pathways planned in advance; whether the company's current international assignment model carries legal risk; which business visits are already approaching the boundary of work authorization; and how the talent mobility system for the next three to five years should be designed.
Prevention, Not Repair, Is Where the Value Lies
The real value is not fixing things after problems have already occurred. It is helping the company build a long-term, stable, and compliant talent mobility system before problems arise.
Because for a company growing globally, an immigration lawyer's greatest value has never been submitting an application. It is helping the company avoid detours, mitigate risk in advance, and ensure its people can move around the world safely, stably, and continuously.
This is something I have always insisted on: an excellent immigration lawyer should not walk behind clients waiting for requests, but walk ahead of them — planning the future for the enterprise.
- Audit whether any executives or employees are conducting activities on B-1/B-2 status that approach or exceed the boundary of permissible business visits, and move them to appropriate work visas.
- Map the immigration status, visa expiration, and long-term pathway (L-1, H-1B, EB-1C, PERM) of every U.S.-assigned employee in a single tracking system.
- Review historical visa filings for inconsistencies or misrepresentations that could jeopardize current employees' status before enforcement or consular scrutiny surfaces them.
- Build a 3–5 year talent mobility plan with counsel that identifies future L-1, H-1B, and green card candidates before business needs become urgent.
- Prepare worksite enforcement response protocols so managers and HR know their obligations and rights if ICE conducts an inspection or enforcement action.
This newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Attorney advertising. © The Peng Law Group.