Amazon.com Inc. is at the forefront of a push to help workers obtain citizenship and other immigration benefits, an effort to attract and retain talent as government officials and business groups alike see immigrants as key to meeting US labor needs.
The online retail giant’s “Welcome Door” program targets refugees and other humanitarian-based immigrant employees such as asylum seekers with assistance that includes reimbursement for work permits. The program also offers lawful permanent residents with legal support for their naturalization applications.
Amazon began offering the benefits to workers in the US in April and will expand it to other countries later this year, said spokeswoman Ellie Russell.
The California Farm Bureau Federation, an organization of farmers and ranchers in the state, announced similar plans late last year.
A significant portion of California’s agricultural workforce includes lawful permanent residents. Those workers—who are typically older, more experienced, and higher skilled—are also the kind of employees who are most critical to retain for farmers and ranchers, said C. Bryan Little, director of labor affairs at the California Farm Bureau Federation.
“A lot of these people occupy key jobs in these agricultural establishments,” he said. “We want to...
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