Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | DECEMBER 15, 2025 13 Dana Bucin, a partner in the immigration practice group at law firm Harris Beach Murtha. HBJ Photo | Steve Laschever Workforce Crunch Federal rule changes, uncertainty complicate hiring foreign-born workers in CT had national interest exception requests outstanding in that email inbox for over a month now with no correspondence from the government," she said. She said many employers now include clauses in offer letters to foreign-born candidates saying they can withdraw the job if the government imposes the H-1B fee. Impacted sectors There was at least one positive devel- opment in the October guidance, said Dana Bucin, a partner in the immigra- tion practice group at law firm Harris Beach Murtha. The $100,000 fee will not apply, as most attorneys interpret it, to prospective hires already in the United States on another legal status — such as a student visa — who seek to enter the H-1B lottery. Bucin said that clarification matters for Connecticut employers. "They've always been recruiting from the pool of international students who hold Connecticut degrees, so when we heard that those people are not affected when they go for the lottery, we were relaxing a little bit," she said. By Harriet Jones hjones@hartfordbusiness.com T he many Connecticut compa- nies that rely on foreign-born workers have been navigating a legal minefield for much of 2025. The landscape of immigration-related work authorizations — never simple to begin with — has been changing almost week-to-week as the Trump administra- tion excludes or restricts more classes of employees. The potential problems extend across many industries and a wide range of skill levels, from highly skilled employees on H-1B visas to workers on tempo- rary protected status from countries including Haiti, Venezuela and Ukraine. "Employers are left with a great deal of uncertainty," said Nina Pelc- Faszcza, an attorney at law firm Shipman & Goodwin who focuses on business immigration. She points to confusing guidance tied to a new $100,000 fee on H-1B visas imposed under a September presidential proclamation. An H-1B allows employers to hire skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations — jobs requiring a bachelor's degree or higher in fields where U.S. labor is in short supply — and is awarded through a lottery system. "Obviously the vast majority, if not almost all employers, are not going to pay $100,000 per H-1B worker to get them status," Pelc-Faszcza said. The implications for Connecticut employers are far-reaching. Almost 1,500 companies in the state applied for H-1B visas in fiscal year 2024, and almost 300 of those indicated they were heavily dependent on such work authorizations. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data, Yale University received more than 200 H-1B approvals in the most recent fiscal year, making it the state's largest user of the program. Other major sponsors include Quest Global, SS&C Technologies, Synchrony Bank and The Hartford, each with roughly 70 to 80 approvals. Most of Connecticut's H-1B peti- tions seek software developers, data analysts, systems engineers and other computer-science roles. But civil engi- neering is also deeply affected. AI Engineers in Middletown employs about 350 people in the U.S., including roughly 25 on H-1B visas. Chief of Staff Tariq Islam said the initial announcement in September of the new $100,000 fee created widespread anxiety, with some employees who were overseas visiting family unsure whether they'd be able to return. The uncertainty eased somewhat the following week, he said, after industry groups pressed the administration and officials indicated the fee would not take effect until more detailed regula- tions were developed. Companies had to wait until the end of October before USCIS issued guidance on how the fee would be implemented, but even that left many questions unanswered, partic- ularly around the so-called national interest exception. Under the proclamation, the Home- land Security secretary has discretion to waive the fee if a hire is deemed in the national interest and does not pose a threat to national security or welfare. Pelc-Faszcza said attorneys were given an email address to submit exception requests, but so far the system does not appear to be working. "There have been attorneys who have Nina Pelc-Faszcza Continued on next page

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