2 min read I Date: 13 Oct 2025
September 2025: Trump’s H-1B visa announcement shook the corporate world overnight.
Companies scrambled. Employees abroad received notices to report back to U.S. offices within 24 hours. Teams froze mid-project. Panic spread across boardrooms and living rooms alike. And beyond the disruption sat a bigger question: Even if you secure an H-1B, is it worth it to pay a $100,000 per employee per year on top of the application processing fee?
No! This is a large sum of money, which can be better invested in growing your business. It’s time to look at smarter alternatives. Options that give companies flexibility without burning through six figures per employee every year.
One path is building virtual teams through offshoring.
This means tapping into talent hubs in India, the Philippines, or Southeast Asia, where the workforce is highly skilled and costs are a fraction of U.S. salaries. With today’s digital tools, like iStrives offshore teams can integrate seamlessly into core operations, handling everything from development to customer support without ever needing to relocate.
But what if there are moments when face-to-face interaction is non-negotiable? That’s where nearshoring comes in. By placing your team in countries like Mexico, or Canada, companies can have talent that is geographically closer. Travel to the U.S. is simple and cost-effective, making occasional office visits realistic.
The average cost of sponsoring and employing one H-1B worker in the U.S. is around $100,000 per year. Now, compare that with a nearshoring setup:
✈️ Round-trip airfare from Mexico to the U.S.: ~$600
🏨 Hotel for 5 nights: ~$1,000
🫰 Meals, transport, and miscellaneous expenses: ~$400
Even if you brought that employee to your U.S. office every month, the annual travel and stay would be under $30,000, saving $70,000 a year. For occasional travel, visas such as the B-1 (Business Visitor Visa) or TN (under NAFTA for Canada and Mexico) provide practical flexibility. Companies can strategically use nearshoring as an option and have employees make short-term visits to stay connected.
The real question for leaders is: would you rather tie up $100,000 in one hire—or use that same budget to build a broader, more agile team that’s future-proof? At Swivelt, we specialize in helping organizations navigate these challenges. Whether it’s through nearshoring, offshoring, we provide flexible, cost-effective ways to scale your workforce. To explore how this can work for your company, visit www.swivelt.com/eor or drop a comment below—we’d love to continue the conversation.
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