The Trump administration announced last month that it would be temporarily suspending H1-B and other work visas, a decision that the potential to make waves across the legal ecosystem. Inside the corporate legal sphere, the implications could include heavier workloads, additional outsourcing to law firms and additional logistical challenges layered on top of the ones already created by COVID-19.

For starters, corporate human resources departments—many of which are responsible for handling matters pertaining to employees and immigration—likely aren’t equipped to navigate some of the novel and highly specific questions raised by the new visa suspensions. Jessica Demuth, vice president of legal solutions at Exigent Group Ltd., believes that HR personnel will likely turn to their corporate legal teams for assistance.