Global Immigration Counsel : Immigration Lawyer & Attorney : Littler Mendelson Law Firm : Permanent Residence, Labor Certification : Global Immigration Counsel

The economic recession has resulted in a growing number of U.S. jobseekers, particularly those at the executive level, seeking (and securing) employment abroad, according to USA Today. Although the number of candidates remains relatively small, the trend reverses a longtime pattern of greater numbers of foreign workers seeking jobs in the U.S. than the reverse.

Recruiters cite India, China, Brazil, Dubai and Singapore as the “hottest” markets. Candidates in the fields of engineering, investment banking, computer technology, manufacturing and consulting are in high demand.

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Current global migration patterns indicate that, due to rising unemployment rates and contracting economies in developed countries, fewer workers are migrating from poor to wealthier nations, and the flow of migrant workers returning to their home countries is increasing. As reported in The Wall Street Journal,  this is potentially the biggest reversal in migration flows since the Great Depression.

Statistics illustrating the reversal include:

• Emigration from Mexico to the U.S. dropped 13% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2008. In the same period, more people returned to Mexico than left Mexico for the U.S., about 139,000 and 137,000, respectively.
• In 2009, a projected 60,000 or more Indonesia citizens will return home from Malaysia, South Korea and other wealthy neighboring nations, as immigrant workers lose their jobs.
• Tens of thousands of Indians are returning from Dubai as jobs there dwindle and work permits expire.
• In the United Kingdom, the number of registered workers coming from new European Union member nations like Poland and the Czech Republic dropped 55% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

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Under new United Arab Emirates visa regulations effective at the end of July, jobseekers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, the Philippines and Bangladesh, who currently are not subject to visa fees, will have to pay a refundable deposit of Dh1,000 ($272) and secure health insurance while they look for work. One likely result of the new regulations, as reported at portstrategy.com, is a rush of would-be workers in the port of Dubai in the spring and early summer. Another probable consequence is that potential employers and recruitment agencies will need to search abroad to find workers in order to avoid a labor shortage. Anyone found working while on a visit visa can be fined more than Dh50,000 ($13,617) and banned from re-entering the UAE. Employers also will be subject to strict penalties for violations.

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