This week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a new final rule on the Form I-9 process. Under the new rule, the DHS Secretary may authorize alternative Form I-9 documentation examination procedures that do not require an employer to physically examine an employee’s documents in person. These alternative procedures can be authorized as part
If an employer hires undocumented workers, are they covered under the U.S. employment laws? Initially, employers must complete Form I-9s for all new employees and cannot hire workers who are unable to establish that they’re authorized to work. But once hired, the script flips and undocumented workers generally enjoy the same legal protections as the
A federal district court in Texas recently struck down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program – known commonly as DACA – holding that the program was improperly implemented by the former Obama administration and, therefore, is illegal.
Since DACA’s inception in 2012, roughly 800,000 people brought to the United States as undocumented children have
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued updated guidance extending the Form I-9 flexibility rule that temporarily relaxes the document inspection requirements for employers operating remotely.
Under this rule, which was first announced on March 20, 2020, if your employees are working remotely as a result of COVID-19, you may initially inspect those
Employers interested in sponsoring foreign national workers for new cap-subject H-1B visas this year need to be getting ready now.
This past Friday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the upcoming FY 2022 H-1B cap season will open at noon EST on Tuesday, March 9 and run through
President Trump recently issued two proclamations suspending the entry of many immigrants and other foreign nationals into the United States. These proclamations have caused considerable frustration and uncertainty for thousands of U.S. companies that rely on foreign workers to keep their businesses running. If these proclamations stay in effect, they will block an estimated half
The newest edition of Form I-9 is officially here, and DHS has provided some guidance on how to inspect work authorization documents in a COVID-19 remote world.
Last fall, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a revised Form I-9, which has an edition date at the bottom that reads “10/21/19.” Since
As we’ve previously explained, some big changes are coming this year to the H-1B visa process. Employers use H-1B visas to temporarily employ workers in “specialty occupations” – generally, jobs that require a bachelor’s degree or higher in a specific specialty or its equivalent.
Each year, the government makes available 85,000 new cap-subject H-1B
Employers who seek to sponsor foreign workers for cap-subject H-1B visas in 2020 will likely see a big change in the process – the use of an electronic pre-registration system that many believe will improve efficiency and reduce costs.
The H-1B visa program is used by a wide variety of
Worksite enforcement actions related to unauthorized workers are on the rise. Fulfilling a promise from 2017, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigatory arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has significantly ramped up its efforts to clamp down on the employment of unauthorized workers. ICE’s recently released statistics for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 show