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Most Global Mobility teams follow the same playbook every December: pause new international assignments until January, let employees enjoy the holidays at home, and restart relocation planning in the new year. It’s a reasonable approach that has worked for decades—until now.
In December 2025, that traditional four-week holiday break could transform into a six-month productivity disaster. Immigration offices may slow down, but your work permit deadlines don’t pause. Quality housing inventory vanishes in January’s rush. School enrollment windows close permanently. And with over 900,000 EAD applications already pending beyond normal processing times, every week of delay compounds into months of cascading problems.
If you’re an HR professional or Global Mobility manager considering whether to push that critical January assignment to February “just to be safe,” the math might shock you. The cost of waiting—measured in lost productivity, compliance risks, missed market opportunities, and employee frustration—far exceeds the complexity of strategic holiday coordination.
This article examines why December 2025 is fundamentally different from past years, quantifies the real costs of the “wait until January” approach, and explains how xpath.global’s global network enables seamless international mobility coordination even during year-end chaos when you need it most.
The practice of pausing international relocations during December emerged from practical realities that once made perfect sense.
Historical rationale for December pauses:
🔸 Immigration offices and consulates operated on reduced schedules or closed entirely for 1-2 weeks
🔸 Moving companies charged premium holiday rates (often 25-40% surcharges)
🔸 Employees preferred not to relocate during family holiday periods
🔸 Housing markets experienced reduced inventory as sellers withdrew listings
🔸 Schools were closed, making mid-year enrollment logistics complicated
For decades, this approach worked reasonably well. Companies would complete final assignments in early December, restart planning in January, and execute relocations in February or March with minimal disruption. Processing timelines were predictable enough that a four-week pause didn’t significantly impact overall schedules.
The immigration and mobility landscape that existed when the “December pause” became standard practice no longer exists. Processing timelines that once measured in weeks now stretch to months or years. Regulatory changes implemented throughout 2024 and 2025 created coordination dependencies that make timing precision essential. The margin for error has effectively disappeared.
Several converging factors make December 2025 a uniquely dangerous time to pause international mobility operations.
As discussed in recent USCIS updates, over 900,000 EAD applications are pending beyond six months as of November 2025. Processing times for I-485 based work authorization now average 8-12 months.
The December impact: If your employee’s EAD expires in February 2026 and you wait until January to file the renewal (instead of filing in December at the 210-day early window), you’ve eliminated your entire safety buffer. What should have been a routine renewal with months of cushion becomes an emergency case requiring expensive expedite requests or potential work authorization gaps.
The November 2025 elimination of third-country immigrant visa processing means employees from countries with limited U.S. consular services must establish legal residency elsewhere before green card interviews—a process taking 6-18 months.
The December impact: Delaying the start of residency establishment by even four weeks pushes the entire green card timeline by months. For employees from Russia, Iran, or Venezuela facing complex multi-jurisdiction coordination, missing the December window to begin processes could mean the difference between Q2 and Q4 2026 completion.
The September 2025 H-1B fee increase to $100,000 per new petition forced companies to urgently explore L-1, TN, and E-2 alternatives. These visa categories often have shorter validity periods and require more frequent renewals.
The December impact: If you’re transitioning employees from H-1B to L-1 status and pause coordination in December, you may miss narrow filing windows. L-1 petitions require one year of prior foreign employment—delaying the start of that employment by a month could disqualify candidates from urgent Q1 2026 transfers.
The decision to pause December relocations carries quantifiable costs across multiple dimensions that compound throughout 2026.
While immigration offices may operate on reduced schedules, processing deadlines continue uninterrupted. Visa expirations, work authorization lapses, and compliance obligations don’t acknowledge holiday breaks.
Measured impact: A work permit that expires January 15, 2026 requires renewal filing by mid-October 2025 to maintain authorization continuity given current processing delays. Waiting until January to address this creates an immediate compliance crisis—the employee may be prohibited from working for 3-6 months awaiting adjudication.
xpath.global’s immigration coordination service maintains relationships with attorneys across 183 countries who continue processing cases through December. While many firms reduce capacity during holidays, our vetted network of 60,000+ service providers ensures continuous coverage—meaning your critical December filings proceed without delay.
Residential real estate markets experience predictable seasonal patterns, with December representing one of the lowest inventory periods globally. January typically sees a surge of new listings—but also intense competition from buyers and renters who delayed decisions through the holidays.
The January rush problem:
🔸 Prime housing options in desirable locations receive multiple offers within 24-48 hours
🔸 Landlords can demand premium rates knowing competition is high
🔸 Employees settling into temporary housing face 30-60 day delays before quality permanent options become available
🔸 School district housing (critical for families) gets claimed immediately by local buyers
Strategic alternative: xpath.global’s destination services partners maintain pre-vetted housing portfolios that can be secured in December for January occupancy. Rather than competing in the January frenzy, employees arrive to confirmed housing that meets their specifications—eliminating weeks of temporary accommodations and associated costs.
International schools and quality public school districts operate on strict enrollment calendars. Mid-year enrollment (January-February) is significantly more restrictive than fall enrollment, with many programs maintaining waiting lists.
Critical deadlines:
🔸 International schools: Application deadlines for January enrollment typically fall in October-November
🔸 Public school districts: Registration and documentation requirements take 4-6 weeks to complete
🔸 Specialized programs: Language support, gifted programs, and special education placements require advance assessment
The coordination challenge: School enrollment requires confirmed housing address, immigration documentation, academic records, and often in-person assessments. Waiting until January to begin this process can mean children start school 2-3 months after arrival—creating academic disruption and family stress that undermines the entire relocation.
xpath.global’s relocation consulting services (Essential Support, Managed Mobility, and Premium Advisory tiers) include dedicated school search coordination. Our local partners understand enrollment calendars and can initiate applications in December even when families won’t physically arrive until January—securing placement before windows close.
The most significant but least visible cost of December delays is lost employee productivity. Every week an employee remains in their origin location while waiting for relocation coordination represents lost contribution in their destination role.
Quantified productivity impact:
For a senior engineer earning $150,000 annually:
For an executive earning $300,000 annually:
These calculations consider only direct compensation—they exclude the strategic opportunity cost of delayed market entry, missed client meetings, and team productivity gaps while the role remains vacant or inadequately filled.
Rather than accepting December as a “dead month” for international mobility, xpath.global’s model treats holiday periods as opportunities for strategic preparation that accelerates January execution.
xpath.global’s vendor network spans 183 countries with 60,000+ service providers. Unlike single-country firms that close for extended holiday periods, our distributed network ensures continuous coverage.
How this works in practice:
🔸 Immigration processing: While U.S. offices may reduce capacity, our global immigration network continues filing petitions, preparing documentation, and coordinating with consulates worldwide
🔸 Housing services: Destination services partners in major cities maintain operations through December, conducting virtual tours and securing properties
🔸 Moving logistics: Our moving company partners coordinate shipments that depart in December for January delivery, avoiding the post-holiday rush
🔸 Tax planning: Year-end is actually optimal for tax consultation, as advisors can incorporate full-year data into projections
Not all consulates and immigration offices observe the same holiday schedules. xpath.global’s immigration partners maintain detailed operational calendars showing which locations continue processing through December.
Strategic advantage: While the U.S. Embassy in London may reduce operations December 20-January 2, consulates in Singapore, Dubai, and São Paulo often maintain fuller schedules. For urgent cases, we can coordinate filings at locations with capacity rather than waiting for preferred but backlogged offices to reopen.
xpath.global’s destination services partners maintain curated housing portfolios specifically for corporate relocations. These properties are pre-inspected, landlords are familiar with international tenant requirements, and lease terms accommodate corporate assignment structures.
December advantage: During the low-inventory December period, we coordinate with landlords to secure properties for January occupancy without January’s competitive bidding. Employees receive confirmed housing details before arrival—complete with virtual tours, neighborhood orientation materials, and move-in coordination schedules.
One of the most valuable aspects of strategic December coordination is the ability to advance critical tasks without requiring employee travel during holidays.
“Soft landing” components we coordinate in December:
🔸 Housing security deposits and lease signing (via power of attorney if needed)
🔸 School application submissions with supporting documentation
🔸 Immigration document preparation and filing
🔸 Utility setup and home internet installation scheduling
🔸 Banking relationship establishment (many international banks allow pre-arrival account opening)
🔸 Temporary housing booking for first week (if permanent housing isn’t immediately available)
Employees enjoy holidays with family in their origin location while xpath.global coordinates everything in the destination. They arrive in January to a ready apartment, confirmed school placement, active immigration cases, and functional logistics—allowing immediate productivity in their new role.
The traditional December relocation pause made sense in an era of predictable processing timelines, ample margin for error, and straightforward single-vendor coordination. That era ended in 2025. Today’s immigration backlogs, regulatory complexity, and multi-vendor coordination requirements have eliminated the luxury of taking four weeks off from global mobility operations.
Companies that pause December relocations in 2025 won’t resume normal operations in January—they’ll spend Q1 2026 fighting fires, scrambling for housing in competitive markets, missing school enrollment windows, and watching productivity evaporate as delayed employees remain stuck in origin locations. The four-week holiday break transforms into a six-month drag on organizational effectiveness.
Strategic mobility partners recognize that December isn’t a time to shut down—it’s an opportunity to advance preparation while others pause, securing competitive advantages that materialize the moment January begins. xpath.global’s distributed global network, continuous operational coverage, and proactive soft-landing coordination ensure that your international assignments don’t just survive the holidays—they thrive because of strategic work completed while competitors wait.
Don’t let December become a six-month delay. Contact xpath.global today to discuss how our global mobility coordination services can maintain momentum through year-end chaos, positioning your Q1 2026 assignments for immediate success. Book a 15-minute consultation to review your December pipeline and identify opportunities for strategic holiday coordination that competitors will spend months trying to recover from.
Italy Checklist: Sponsoring Highly Skilled Migrant Visas
Grab a copy of a guide to international employee relocation
View E-book