Why U.S. Companies Are Betting Big on LatAm Talent

The cost of hiring global talent in the U.S. just soared. With the Trump administration introducing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, many employers are rethinking how they access international expertise. Instead of absorbing those costs, a growing number are turning south toward Latin America’s (LatAm) workforce, tapping into highly skilled professionals without the immigration hurdles.

On top of this, 75% of U.S. employers report difficulties in filling skilled roles; at the same time, salaries are increasing 3.6% annually. For businesses feeling the squeeze, nearshoring offers an immediate solution. 

The New Workforce Map

The geography of hiring is shifting. U.S. companies are no longer concentrating growth solely in domestic hotspots like Silicon Valley; they’re building teams across Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and beyond. 

LatAm now counts more than two million tech experts across key markets, giving U.S. companies access to a depth of talent that rivals traditional hubs in Asia and Europe. Some of the top industries nearshoring LatAm talent include marketing and advertising, information technology services, accounting, and financial services. 

Some companies have been proving the model for nearly two decades, such as Making Sense, a technology firm founded by Argentine engineer César D’Onofrio. After moving to Texas in the early 2000s, D’Onofrio saw the unmet demand for software developers in the U.S. and proposed building a team in Argentina to fill the gap. 

That experiment in 2005 has since grown into a company with teams across California, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia, delivering digital products for clients worldwide. D’Onofrio has also been recognized among Nearshore Americas’ Power 50 Leaders, underscoring how nearshoring can evolve from a stopgap to a global business model.

Slalom is another tech firm building bigger teams in LatAm. The draw isn’t just lower costs; it’s the ability to work in real time with U.S. clients and avoid the operational and communication snags that come with offshore centers. 

Slalom told Mexico Business News: “Rather than siloing local teams, we fully integrate our talent in Mexico and Colombia into global project teams. For example, a solution delivered for a Mexican client may include architects in Seattle, developers in Bogota, and analysts in Chicago. This model not only elevates local talent by giving them a global platform but also ensures clients benefit from the best expertise available, regardless of geography.”  

Together, these examples point to a structural shift: nearshoring has moved from experiment to mainstream strategy. And the benefits extend beyond headcount. Productivity gains from nearshoring can increase savings by 10–20% or more, driven by smoother collaboration and faster project cycles compared to traditional offshore models.

Nearshoring today isn’t just a way to trim costs; it’s about finding dependable talent. With U.S. visa rules in flux and shortages mounting at home, being able to hire developers, analysts, and engineers without the red tape of immigration is a real edge. For many companies, that’s turning nearshoring from a side tactic into a central part of their hiring strategy.

Payments Without Borders

Nearshoring only works if companies can reliably pay their people, and that’s often where the friction typically starts. The World Bank says global average remittance fees remain at around 6% of the transaction, which quickly adds up for businesses. On top of this, settlement times can stretch up to a week and there’s the added headache of navigating volatile local currencies. 

The TransferMate Global Payroll Payments Report 2025 found that foreign exchange discrepancies affect 18% of payroll payments and 66% of payroll professionals lack the tools to understand their current costs with banks and payment providers.

This is where the fintech ecosystem has stepped in. New platforms are building rails that let U.S. companies make one payment and distribute it seamlessly across multiple accounts in LatAm, often in USD. 

MiDi is one example of how these new systems are changing expectations. Employers can send a USD payment, which MiDI distributes directly to each worker through a U.S. bank account. So if a worker earns $1,000, they receive $1,000, and workers have use of a VISA debit card at no extra monthly cost. Unlike traditional cross-border payment platforms, MiDI doesn’t charge fees to companies or workers and earns revenue from interchange fees for debit card usage, optional currency exchange margins, and partnerships with the ecosystem. 

The result isn’t just convenience but a foundation for trust. When payroll becomes as smooth as hiring, U.S. firms can scale nearshore teams with confidence, and LatAm professionals can see themselves as part of a global workforce rather than as contractors dealing with second-tier systems.

Talent Beyond Cost Savings

On average, U.S. companies save around $35,000 to $55,000 each year with every LatAm hire. And while this approach is often framed as a budget play, the reality is far more strategic. With the right hiring partner, companies fill roles faster and keep talent 66.29% longer than U.S. hires. And American companies are discovering that LatAm professionals bring skills, alignment, and staying power that rival or surpass their domestic peers.

Finance roles are leading the shift. U.S. firms are increasingly filling roles such as accountants and bookkeepers with LatAm talent, thanks to the region’s strong technical training and bilingual skills. And it’s not just back-office work. Demand is also rising for software engineers, data analysts, and customer-facing specialists.

Even in manufacturing, distance is no longer a barrier. As Alex Sandoval, CEO of Allie AI told Contxto, “Our customers have seen a consistent reduction of unscheduled downtime, around 15-20%, a clear overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) improvement of 10-15 points, and a decrease in material and energy waste, typically 5-10%.

Engineering teams from across LatAm are helping global factories like Heineken and PepsiCo reduce downtime and optimize efficiency. By combining technical talent with regional proximity, these collaborations strike the right balance between cost savings and helping U.S. manufacturers innovate.”

One reason U.S. companies find LatAm talent so competitive is the region’s evolving university and startup ecosystem. More and more, universities in the region are incorporating innovation and technology entrepreneurship into their curriculums to help train the next generation of business leaders. For instance, in Mexico, Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Center of Excellence in Technology-Based Entrepreneurship has spun off a number of startups who’ve gone on to expand into the US market; FGV Ventures, the accelerator program from Brazil’s leading university, Fundação Getulio Vargas, partners with corporations like Facebook and Itaú (the country’s biggest bank), to provide mentorship to founders; and Uniandinos, from Colombia’s University of the Andes, supports entrepreneurs in the technology and science industries. 

But technical skills alone aren’t the secret sauce; time zones matter, as well as work habits and cultural proximity. Nearshore teams in Mexico City or Bogotá can join the same stand-up meetings, respond in real time, and collaborate without the lag of overnight cycles. The cultural overlap also reduces friction. From business communication styles to customer expectations, even holidays are closer to U.S. norms than offshore hubs half a world away.

Retention is another overlooked advantage. Rather than treating nearshore staff as short-term contractors, many U.S. firms put them on par with domestic employees. Benefits like paid leave, healthcare, and training allowances are becoming standard, helping reduce turnover and keep hard-won expertise in place.

For U.S. employers, nearshoring delivers more than a quick fix. It secures stable and skilled professionals in a tight labor market. And when done right, nearshoring won’t just reshape balance sheets; it will show what a connected, global workforce looks like.