Talent Beyond Boundaries Launches in the United States

Pictured: (from left) TBB COO Patrick O’Leary, Global Program Manager Zeynep Yurdoglu, U.S. Director Betsy Fisher, U.S. Program Manager Hannah Somers, and Co-Founder Bruce Cohen.

Last week, TBB gathered with long-time supporters, friends, and partners to celebrate the launch of TBB’s U.S. programming. 

Our U.S. program is laying the groundwork to scale refugee labor mobility in the United States by working to make existing employment-based visa pathways accessible to refugees on an equitable basis. TBB is partnering with U.S. companies to hire skilled refugees for hard-to-fill positions in the United States. 

Bringing skilled refugees to the U.S.

To bring skilled refugees to the U.S., TBB is exploring the use of H-1B uncapped visas, EB-3 visas, and occasional O-1 visas. We are also exploring partnerships that would assist refugees in relocating through humanitarian programs like the Uniting for Ukraine humanitarian parole and refugee resettlement private sponsorship.

Our goal is to support at least 100 skilled refugees and displaced workers to relocate to the United States over the next year, with the support of our partners, employers, and the U.S. Government. In tandem, we know a necessary step will be working with partners to advocate to break down the barriers that prevent skilled refugees from accessing U.S. employment-based visas. 

The launch event was hosted by TBB board member Ambassador John Phillips and his wife Linda Douglass, TBB co-founders Mary Louise and Bruce Cohen, and TBB expert advisor Gary Phillips and his wife Suzanne Spalding. We saw continued support from advocates across the refugee labor mobility space, including Senator Warner, Senator Kaine, and Senator Leahy. 

Our co-founder Bruce Cohen called for the United States to “Join and become a leader in increasing opportunities for displaced people to contribute to companies and communities based on their skills... It is time for the U.S. to make visas accessible to this talent population and thereby help American businesses meet their hiring needs.” 

Our U.S. Director, Betsy Fisher, shared TBB’s long-term vision, noting that TBB, working in coalition with partners, will “Improve opportunities for refugees to access protection in the United States, including through opportunities to relocate based on their skill.”

We’d like to sincerely thank our event hosts, to TBB board members, U.S. Advisory Council members, and to all of our partners and advocates. For anyone interested in connecting with us about the U.S. program please contact our U.S. Director, Betsy Fisher.