The Business Immigration & Compliance Practice of Greenberg Traurig, LLP is pleased to announce that Courtney B. Noce has been elevated to shareholder in the Atlanta office. Noce focuses her practice on U.S. business immigration, compliance, and enforcement actions, as well as global immigration. She represents both large multinational companies and small startups on the … Continue Reading
Tom Homan, the Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has ordered ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit to increase the amount of time it spends on worksite enforcement actions “by four or five times,” consistent with the Trump administration’s stated goal of curbing illegal immigration. Notably, Acting Director Homan also announced a marked … Continue Reading
USCIS has begun issuing I-797A, Notice of Action Approval Notices containing inconsistent validity periods on the face of the document. Specifically, the top portion of the I-797A approval notices lists the approved visa classification (e.g., H-1B) and the authorized validity period of that visa classification (e.g., from Oct. 1, 2017, to Sept. 11, 2020). The … Continue Reading
In response to the Trump administration’s stance on immigration enforcement, California is considering legislation (Assembly Bill 450 (Chiu)) which would prohibit employers from providing federal immigration officials with access to nonpublic areas of the workplace without a judicial warrant. While aiming to provide new protections to workers, the bill’s broad language does not eliminate any employer … Continue Reading
On Sept. 12, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, on Aug. 25, 2016. After receiving over 130,000 stakeholder comments in response to the proposed issuance of a new Form I-9, USCIS will publish the revised form version … Continue Reading
Greenberg Traurig and the Philadelphia Bar Association invite you to attend an introductory seminar on immigration processes and their relationship to businesses on April 19. Greenberg Traurig attorneys, Matthew T. Galati and Shaun Staller, will provide an overview of the immigration law system and address hiring foreign workers, options for new foreign owned businesses, paths … Continue Reading
Federal law requires employers to verify the identity and employment authorization of each person they hire, complete and retain a Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) for each employee, and avoid discriminating against individuals on the basis of national origin or citizenship. On March 28, 2016, USCIS published a notice in the Federal Register to notify … Continue Reading
On November 24, 2015, USCIS published a notice in the Federal Register [80 FR 73200] of proposed changes to the Form I-9, thereby initiating a 60 day public comment period through January 25, 2015. The proposed changes aim to reduce the commission of technical errors on the Form I-9 and increase functionality for customers in … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) for OCAHO ordered Hartmann Studios, Inc., an event design and production company based in Richmond, California to pay civil money penalties totaling $605,250 based on 808 I-9 paperwork violations. The vast majority of violations involved the company’s failure to sign section 2 of the I-9 forms. The … Continue Reading
In a recent symposium sponsored by the Council for Global Migration, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), made the following note-worthy announcements and/or classification: The USCIS will soon release a “smart” online I-9 form to assist employers in completing the forms correctly. … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently entered into a settlement agreement with three staffing companies in the Memphis, Tennessee area. DOJ’s investigation discovered that each of the companies rejected the employment of two qualified individuals based on them being born in Puerto Rico. Specifically, the employers refused to accept each individual’s valid Puerto Rican … Continue Reading
On June 4, 2015, ICE reminded employers across the country of the I-9 employment eligibility verification requirements and the consequences for violations when it issued a fine against Broetje Orchards in Washington state for employing close to 1,000 unauthorized workers. The matter involving Broetje Orchards has been ongoing for several years, after the company was … Continue Reading
Compliance with the I-9 employment eligibility verification requirements continues to be a challenge to many employers, with potentially serious consequences for violations, as two recent cases show. On February 24, 2015, the United States Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (“OCAHO”) found that Liberty Packaging, Inc. … Continue Reading
In the most recent publication of the Federal Register, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced El Salvador’s designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is being extended for 18 months, from March 10, 2015, through Sept. 9, 2016. The extension allows eligible TPS beneficiaries to retain TPS through Sept. 9, 2016, so long as they … Continue Reading
Employers concerned about incurring fines or criminal liability for hiring undocumented workers now face a new challenge: large healthcare payouts and contract litigation when stop loss carriers refuse to honor claims arising from an undocumented employee’s policy. In a recent case before a U.S. District California Court, a small business sued its stop-loss carrier to … Continue Reading
Last week Stacy Stiffel Paddack was announced as the newest Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) at the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO). Judge Paddack will rule on the proper penalty in immigration compliance (Form I-9 violations) cases brought by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Welcome aboard, Judge Paddack. The statutory range for … Continue Reading
In immigration law a distinction is made between inadmissibility and removability. There are some actions that can render an individual inadmissible (i.e., not eligible to enter the United States), some actions that can render an individual removable (i.e., eligible to be removed from the United States after being admitted to the country), and some actions … Continue Reading
Employers can now complete the I-9 Form using a new Desktop Widget that can be downloaded and saved onto desktops. The widget makes it easier and faster to complete the Form I-9. With one click, employers will be taken to an online, fillable Form I-9. USCIS offered this widget to make the form more easily … Continue Reading
Employers as a best practice should conduct regular self-audits of their I-9s to ensure the forms are completed properly. When, if ever, can an employer, during a self-audit, request to see the documents that were presented by the employee at the time the I-9 was initially completed? The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special … Continue Reading
For a second time in a week, the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) announced it had reached a settlement with a company for immigration discrimination involving I-9 document abuse. The second of its settlements stemmed from wrongdoing by a major airline. OSC’s investigation was initiated based … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) enforces the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This law prohibits, among other things, document abuse during the Form I-9 employment eligibility verification process. Employers as a best practice should conduct regular self-audits of their I-9s to … Continue Reading
As reported in the Federal Register, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations were extended for Sudan and South Sudan for 18 months, from November 3, 2014 to to May 2, 2016. Applicants who were previously granted TPS status under the 2011 South Sudan designation or 2013 re-designation must apply between September 2, 2014 and November 3, … Continue Reading
CBP has automated the I-94 and I-94W process for all travelers applying for admission at U.S. ports of entry. Consequently, nonimmigrants arriving at an air or sea U.S. Port of Entry no longer receive a paper I-94 card from the CBP inspector. CBP provides each nonimmigrant with an admission stamp that is annotated with date … Continue Reading
The GT Business Immigration & Compliance Practice invites you to attend our “Onboarding: Hiring Foreign Nationals” webinar on Tuesday, December 12, 2013 from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. ET featuring GT attorneys Nataliya Binshteyn, Ali Brodie and Rebecca Schechter. In today’s global marketplace, many companies are recruiting skilled foreign nationals to join their workforce. While this … Continue Reading
