Although likely there are some other reasons, here are a few that come to mind as possibilities:

Confidentiality of legal proceedings.

U.S. workers who are citizens and residents usually feel an allegiance to their country.  They want to do the right thing.  One of the “right things” is obeying American laws.  Therefore, inherent within that patriotic feeling is usually a desire to maintain confidentiality when needed. 

After all, leaked information in legal proceedings is often very disastrous.  It should never happen.

It goes without saying that non-U.S. citizens also feel a loyalty to their country.  Of course!  This is undisputed.  However, when the proceedings are conducted in America, many employers want the transcription to also be done in America.  They just do.  And this is their prerogative since they hold the checkbook, right?

RELATED:  Legal Transcription

Identity theft is so easy for a criminal in legal procedures.

Think about it for a second.  As legal transcriptionists, we hear so many things about people:

• Name
• Address
• Date of birth
• Social Security number
• Spouse’s name
• Children’s names
• Place of employment
• Banking information
• Credit card information
• and numerous other tidbits of extremely personal data.

This creates an absolute gold mine to steal an innocent person’s identity.  Next thing you know, the victim may owe thousands of dollars which they knew nothing about.  As a result, they are mortified!  Yet, at the same time, utterly and completely puzzled.

How in the world?  Who is doing this?  Hey, what’s going on here anyway?  Could this security breach be traced back to the transcriptionist?  Uh-oh.  What if they live 8,000 miles away, though?

What about law enforcement transcription jobs for U.S. workers only?

Obviously, in law enforcement transcription, the confidentiality factor is extremely heightened.  Why?

Because much of this type of work involves investigations prior to making an arrest.  In addition, don’t forget about secret grand jury proceedings.  That sort of leaked gossip by a transcriptionist could be a very serious problem.

Did you ask why?  Once the word is on the street or in cyberspace, well, you know the rest, right?  The suspect likely goes into hiding or flees the jurisdiction to evade arrest.  So when the authorities attempt to locate a suspect and they cannot be found, you see the problem.

U.S. workers are usually screened with fingerprinting and a background check prior to  this type of employment.  Accomplishing this same procedure would be very difficult for non-U.S. workers.

Mastery of written English grammar and punctuation is critical.

Many people live and are educated in non-U.S. countries and speak English well.  Often, however, English is their second language and not their native tongue.  Even though someone can communicate orally in English, what about written?  How are their punctuation and grammar skills?

Transcription involves the written words or text exactly as spoken.  More often than not, colloquial expressions, regional accents, and unfamiliar words are real nightmares for non-U.S. workers.

And, to be completely fair about it, even U.S. workers get tripped up sometimes, too.  But living in the U.S. and hearing all sorts of idioms,  colloquial expressions, and hundreds of different accents is a big plus for transcription.  Therefore, Americans won’t need to spend nearly as much research time chasing down a particular word or phrase.  They just sort of “know it” or can quickly figure it out.

As to punctuation, people from a foreign country (not a native American) who excelled in English classes are usually better with punctuation than grammar – using the word “grammar” in a general sense.  Immediately just “knowing” the correct word spoken often trips them up.

Although this is not intended as criticism to non-U.S. workers, it is simply a fact, unfortunately.  Therefore, it is one reason that they may have difficulty getting hired for U.S. transcription work.  Well, it’s a theory or suspicion, at least.

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Oh, and what about payments to non-U.S. workers? 

Yes, indeed.  Paying a transcriptionist in a foreign country is sometimes a costly endeavor.  Don’t forget that many payment processors charge extra fees to the payor in such situations.  

Additionally, the currency variance is confusing to many U.S. businesses. Some employers just don’t want to deal with non-U.S. workers for this reason.

Lastly, many U.S. small businesses do not like the inability to furnish a standard W-2 or a 1099 IRS form. 

RELATED:  Internal Revenue Service

But what about a U.S. citizen not residing in the U.S.?

Is this an issue?  It can be, yes, if the transcriptionist commits a crime and is the subject of an arrest warrant.  The expense could be great for U.S. authorities to locate and extradite to America.  Consequently, the mindset is often:  Require that transcriptionists are both U.S. citizens and U.S. residents.

While there might be other reasons, the above are a few possibilities. 

Your thoughts?

Why do you think many employers hire U.S. workers only?