Hire refugees with skills, experience, and talent.
The Welcome Corps enables U.S. employers to recruit from a diverse, qualified pool of refugee candidates abroad. As an employer participant in Welcome Corps at Work, you will be able to review resumes from our pool of refugee candidates abroad, interview candidates, and offer employment to the refugee candidates directly. Welcome Corps at Work then helps those refugees navigate the process of being considered for resettlement in the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), the legal pathway through which the U.S. government admits refugees determined to be in need of permanent resettlement in the United States. Refugees who are resettled in the United States are eligible for permanent residence and U.S. citizenship.
Participation for your company is free. Access to the USRAP is free for refugees and there are no associated recruitment or visa sponsorship fees.
After you make an offer of employment, the Welcome Corps will connect your incoming refugee employee to a sponsor group that will help them resettle in your community. Sponsors help refugees navigate day-to-day life and guide them to achieve long-term independence. Your company’s employees may volunteer to form a sponsor group, or we will recruit local community member sponsors.
The refugee admissions process may take six months up to several years from the time you extend a job offer until the refugee employee arrives in the United States. Please note there is no guarantee that refugee candidates will be approved through the USRAP.
Meet your future employee
Refugee candidates have skills ranging from healthcare to computer science to social work and everything in between. They must meet your job qualifications, including language skills, as well as the the eligibility criteria for the Welcome Corps. They can bring their immediate family (up to 5 people total).
Increase employee engagement
Your employees can form a sponsor group to support the refugee when they settle in your community. In doing so, they can make a meaningful difference in helping your refugee hire integrate into their new workplace and community. For employees to participate, they must meet the sponsorship criteria and the following:
- They are not human resources employees at your company or the immediate family members of human resource employees
- They do not work in the reporting chain of the refugee candidate
- Your company has more than 250 employees per work site
We support you along the way
The Welcome Corps team offers ongoing support throughout the process, including trainings and resources. We help prepare sponsor groups to find housing, fundraise, and link to community services.