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  • July 2020 (Revised September 2020)
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MobSquad

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, William R. Kerr and Susie L. Ma
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:22
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Abstract

Irfhan Rawji (MBA 2004) launched MobSquad in October 2018 to help American tech start-ups retain hard-to-find talent, many of whom struggled with U.S. work visa issues, such as software engineers with experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, or data science. MobSquad also helped companies fill open roles by tapping into its database of pre-vetted foreign tech workers. While there was growing demand for these specialists, the talent supply in the U.S. was relatively constrained and American companies often filled positions with foreign-born workers using a temporary visa called the H-1B. However, U.S. President Donald Trump temporarily suspended immigration in June 2020, including foreign workers on an H-1B visa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rawji contemplated what kind of impact this would have on MobSquad and the tech industry in Canada. There was already evidence that a growing number of foreign tech workers were choosing Canada over the U.S. due to Trump’s immigration policies. Now Rawji suspected that Trump’s latest move would further accelerate this trend, and he wanted MobSquad to be ready to help companies and workers who had been counting on the H-1B.

Keywords

Work Visas; H1-B; Business Ventures; Business Startups; Labor; Human Capital; Human Resources; Crisis Management; Employment Industry; Canada; United States

Citation

Choudhury, Prithwiraj, William R. Kerr, and Susie L. Ma. "MobSquad." Harvard Business School Case 821-010, July 2020. (Revised September 2020.)
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About The Authors

Prithwiraj Choudhury

Technology and Operations Management
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William R. Kerr

Entrepreneurial Management
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Related Work

    • October 2020 (Revised February 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    MobSquad

    By: Prithwiraj Choudhury
    • July 2020 (Revised September 2020)
    • Faculty Research

    MobSquad

    By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, William R. Kerr and Susie L. Ma
Related Work
  • MobSquad By: Prithwiraj Choudhury
  • MobSquad By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, William R. Kerr and Susie L. Ma
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