Hospitality H-1 Visas
The Wall Street Journal and most other media are weighing in on immigrant visas, particularly the H1-B. As a career hotelier having worked for international luxury brands, I spent years working with my respective HR Directors and outside attorneys to maximize the very positive impacts of the US working visa programs.
J, H1 and H2, L, and O visas were the battery of options available. They are tools that give the ability to build cohorts of international, talented young managers. They each work for different levels of staffing and skill and timeframe. Our global hotel management culture has much to be thankful for with the working visa programs.
Forty odd years ago we here in America were still building a homegrown sense of hospitality. We were still modest of our strengths, still under the shadow of ‘the ugly American’, didn’t have our confidence yet. Hadn’t found the ‘art’. Still in awe of European elegance and manners. There were a handful of great Hospitality schools, not just Cornell but a few others, soon though hospitality was a serious career opportunity and even Community colleges opened some great programs. On the culinary side we had the new CIA, Culinary Institute of America but we were a long way from the American cuisine revolution and a whole generation of now highly successful world class chefs. We mimicked our service standards with French and Russian pretentions before the likes of Danny Meyer, Tony Fortuna or Eric Weiss and other mentors created incredible hospitable American service.
The exchange of foreign and American young managers was always a twoway benefit, The standards of the Swiss, bright smiles and sharp pencils; the financial focus of the Singaporeans, the bottom line; the soft spiritual gift of the dignity of serving of the Indians; were teaching moments and we were so eager to learn. In return they learned American ingenuity and drive, innovation and even showmanship. The magic of these teams sustained the narrative that allowed our global brands to deliver an authentic outcome and experience of the brand promise.
It was certainly a meritocracy. A J visa was good for a year and a 6 month extension if you were very good, an H-1 for up to 6 years, but if someone messed up they could soon find themselves re-patriated. It was a privilege, an opportunity to be in America. Work hard and work smart and good things will happen. Each year you got to see the superstars the potential department heads and even future General Managers and company Presidents. If you couldn’t devise an ongoing visa strategy you would at least try to steer them to one of your overseas properties and keep them in the corporate family.
For some the visas may have been a year or two abroad, an international finishing school if you will and then they returned to their home country and grow into senior positions back in Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, India, Korea, Ecuador, China or wherever. However quite a number of men and women moved upwards here in the US with their careers, securing a pathway, perhaps a green card and eventually citizenship. Some came from dangerous countries and an American visa was a road to safety and the elusive American dream. General Managers, world famous chefs, VP’s of operations, Chief Concierges, Regional Revenue Directors. Great colleagues and many great friends (to this day).
Like any government program there will always be misuse and even fraud, but the companies I worked for leveraged the visa programs into huge successes for their respective companies and personal life builders for many of the recipients. So go ahead and clean it up just don’t blow it up.
The Wall Street Journal and most other media are weighing in on immigrant visas, particularly the H1-B. As a career hotelier having worked for international luxury brands, I spent years working with my respective HR Directors and outside attorneys to maximize the very positive impacts of the US working visa programs.
J, H1 and H2, L, and O visas were the battery of options available. They are tools that give the ability to build cohorts of international, talented young managers. They each work for different levels of staffing and skill and timeframe. Our global hotel management culture has much to be thankful for with the working visa programs.
Forty odd years ago we here in America were still building a homegrown sense of hospitality. We were still modest of our strengths, still under the shadow of ‘the ugly American’, didn’t have our confidence yet. Hadn’t found the ‘art’. Still in awe of European elegance and manners. There were a handful of great Hospitality schools, not just Cornell but a few others, soon though hospitality was a serious career opportunity and even Community colleges opened some great programs. On the culinary side we had the new CIA, Culinary Institute of America but we were a long way from the American cuisine revolution and a whole generation of now highly successful world class chefs. We mimicked our service standards with French and Russian pretentions before the likes of Danny Meyer, Tony Fortuna or Eric Weiss and other mentors created incredible hospitable American service.
The exchange of foreign and American young managers was always a twoway benefit, The standards of the Swiss, bright smiles and sharp pencils; the financial focus of the Singaporeans, the bottom line; the soft spiritual gift of the dignity of serving of the Indians; were teaching moments and we were so eager to learn. In return they learned American ingenuity and drive, innovation and even showmanship. The magic of these teams sustained the narrative that allowed our global brands to deliver an authentic outcome and experience of the brand promise.
It was certainly a meritocracy. A J visa was good for a year and a 6 month extension if you were very good, an H-1 for up to 6 years, but if someone messed up they could soon find themselves re-patriated. It was a privilege, an opportunity to be in America. Work hard and work smart and good things will happen. Each year you got to see the superstars the potential department heads and even future General Managers and company Presidents. If you couldn’t devise an ongoing visa strategy you would at least try to steer them to one of your overseas properties and keep them in the corporate family.
For some the visas may have been a year or two abroad, an international finishing school if you will and then they returned to their home country and grow into senior positions back in Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, India, Korea, Ecuador, China or wherever. However quite a number of men and women moved upwards here in the US with their careers, securing a pathway, perhaps a green card and eventually citizenship. Some came from dangerous countries and an American visa was a road to safety and the elusive American dream. General Managers, world famous chefs, VP’s of operations, Chief Concierges, Regional Revenue Directors. Great colleagues and many great friends (to this day).
Like any government program there will always be misuse and even fraud, but the companies I worked for leveraged the visa programs into huge successes for their respective companies and personal life builders for many of the recipients. So go ahead and clean it up just don’t blow it up.
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