Employment Resources for Immigrants and Refugees

Immigrants and refugees will be the fastest-growing segment of Minnesota's workforce in the near future. After a job loss, they can get help from a wide variety of community organizations and agencies in finding another job.

English Language Learners can explore careers, set goals, get training, and more on the website MyMnCareers

Community-Based Employment Services

• Centre for Asians and Pacific Islanders (CAPI)
  Assists Southeast Asian and East African immigrants and refugees in becoming self-sufficient and contributing members of the community. The agency's employees collectively speak 10 languages and offer services from several Minneapolis locations.
• CLUES
  Provides employment services for Latino job seekers. These services identify and address barriers that prevent the Latino job seeker from getting and keeping a good job. CLUES also attempts to tackle some of the issues facing clients. These may include poverty, hunger, homelessness, separation from family, newcomer status, language barriers, and mental and/or chemical health issues.
• Hmong American Partnership (HAP)
  Provides job placement services and post-placement follow-up, employability assessments, job search and employment plan, workplace English classes, and support services.
• Jewish Family and Children's Service of Minneapolis (JFCS)
  Helps people of diverse cultures to obtain quality employment. Services include an assessment for employment and the evaluation of language skills, specialized skills, and work readiness. JFCS also offers English language training for the workplace, scholarships and loans for education, interview skill development, resume assistance, job-finding skills training, direct job development and job placement, financial support for starting a job, job retention assistance, employment advancement help, and job follow-up.
• Lutheran Social Service
  Helps refugees and Minnesota residents become self-sufficient. The refugee program helps federally-approved refugees be reunited with family members. The employment program provides job placement and retention assistance to welfare participants who live in Hennepin County.
• Minnesota Diversified Industries (MDI)
  Provides job opportunities for individuals who have disabilities or disadvantages that are a barrier to employment. MDI has expanded its mission to serve people with other disadvantages. MDI has a light industrial manufacturing and service enterprise. It offers extended employment and job opportunities for persons of all abilities. A very large percentage of employees are immigrants. MDI is a non-profit organization.
• Projects With Industry (PWI), Rise Inc.
  Provides job placement services to immigrants and refugees who receive public assistance. Staff is multi-lingual.
• Vietnamese Social Services of MinnesotaHelps refugees and immigrants prepare for and obtain the employment they need to sustain themselves and their families. Services include job search assistance, help in writing a resumes and filling out a job applications, job coaching, job clubs, and post-placement follow-up with the worker and employer.

Government Employment Services

• CareerForce Locations
  Offers free job search workshops, employment information, services, and resources at more than 50 centers statewide.
• Hiring Foreign Workers
  Allows employers to hire foreign workers on a permanent basis. A labor certification application must be filed with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Licensing and Work Permits

• CareerOneStop
  Search for licenses that may be required by law for you to work in a specific occupation. You can search by state, occupation, or agency. Information for all states, agencies, and licenses may not be included.
• Work Permit
  Provides information on over 60 types of non-immigrant U.S. visas. There are many different ways to get an U.S. immigration visa or U.S. green card.

Employer Resources

• Handbook for Employers M-274 (3.15MB, .pdf)
  Contains instructions for completing Form l-9, the Employment Eligibility Verification Form. Documents that establish both identity and employment verification are illustrated. These include passports, certificates of birth, citizenship, naturalization, alien registration, residency, driver's license, and other details.
• Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker (MSFW) Program (Intercambio de información para trabajadores migrantes)
  Helps employers find agricultural and non-agricultural workers. It offers employers assistance with creating a skills-based job order and listing it with the WorkForce Centers, interstate and intrastate clearance orders, federal/state farm labor compliance regulations, and more.