Employers who turn to foreign labor markets for hard-to-fill positions have an ever-narrower window of opportunity, advisers warn.

"Last year the application period opened April 1, 2006, for (the fiscal year starting) Oct. 1, and they were gone by June. So last year there was only slightly more than a two-month window to apply," said Kathy Hanenburg of Warner, Norcross & Judd in Grand Rapids.

"As a practical matter, as (the visas) dry up earlier and earlier, what happens is the employer turns to other solutions or some employers give up on foreign nationals altogether," Hanenburg said.

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