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Throughout September, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will offer free webinars on the following subjects:

• Form I-9: An overview of the process, including step-by-step instructions on completion, retention and storage of Form I-9’s.
• E-Verify Self Check: An overview of the program that allows employees, at no charge, to check their employment eligibility.
• E-Verify: An overview and demonstration of the program, along with examining the enrollment process and employer responsibilities.
• Federal Contractor E-Verify: A general program overview for those awarded a federal contract containing the FAR E-Verify Clause.
• E-Verify for Current Users: A detailed program overview discussing user roles, common mistakes, and case alerts.

Webinar dates and registration links are available on the USCIS website. While some topics are offered multiple times, the webinar on E-Verify for current users is only offered once this month, on September 29. A computer with internet access and a telephone are required for viewing and listening. 

Photo credit: Matthew Bowden

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published a revised employer handbook on Form I-9 completion. The handbook guides employers through the process step by step and features:

• expanded guidance on how to enter names on Form I-9;
• more examples of acceptable documents;
• additional information regarding employment-authorized nonimmigrants; and
• other clarifications.

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As reported by Politico.com, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently notified 1,000 companies in 50 states that they will be subject to an immigration audit wherein ICE inspects employers’ hiring records, e.g., Form I-9s and supporting documents. This latest round of notices brings the tally to more than 2,300 audits to date in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 (October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011), compared to a total of 2,196 during FY 2010.

Audits have been a central theme of the Obama administration’s immigration enforcement strategy. Immigration officials’ focus has shifted to employer, versus employee, noncompliance, the rationale being that the volume of illegal immigration will decrease if employers stop hiring undocumented workers. To prevent such hiring, enforcement agencies use their ability to impose civil and criminal penalties on employers.

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United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the launch of I-9 Central, a website dedicated to providing resources, tips and guidance on proper completion of Form I-9, which employers must complete for each worker hired after November 6, 1986. Highlights of the site, which is designed for use by both employers and employees, include:

• Overviews of employer and employee rights and responsibilities
• Step-by-step instructions for completing Form I-9
• Information on acceptable identity and employment authorization documents
• A discussion of common mistakes, and guidance on how to correct errors
• Answers to employers’ frequently asked questions about the Form I-9 process

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On April 15, 2011, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule (pdf), effective May 16, 2011, governing the types of acceptable identity and employment authorization documents and receipts that an employee may present to an employer when completing Form I-9. The final rule adopts without change an interim rule (pdf) that was published on December 17, 2008, and has been in effect since April 3, 2009.

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United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has begun issuing employment and travel authorization on a single card for certain applicants filing a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. This new card replaces the paper Advance Parole documents formerly issued to such applicants and offers increased security and durability. The card serves to verify a cardholder’s legal work status in the United States; specifically, employers may use the card as a List A document when completing a Form I-9. Additionally, cardholders can travel abroad and return to the United States without abandoning their pending adjustment application. Cardholders must present the card to request parole through the U.S. port of entry, at which point immigration officials will determine whether to grant parole (i.e., individuals who were unlawfully present in the United States may be denied re-admission).

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that, on March 18, 2011, it will launch the E-Verify Self Check Program, a secure web portal that allows an individual to verify his or her work authorization status. Previously, only employers could conduct E-Verify checks, and, in the event of a possible mismatch, the prospective employee needed to resolve the matter, thereby delaying his or her possible hire and/or start date. The Self Check Program will allow individuals to correct any identity information errors that the E-Verify system might contain, thereby “provid[ing] a vehicle for an individual to proactively check work authorization status prior to the employer conducting the E-Verify inquiry.”

The Self Check program is a two-stage process: Stage 1 requires users to verify their identities; Stage 2 examines whether the individual is legally authorized to work in the United States.
 

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Since October 2009, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has levied over $600,000 in fines against Texas businesses for immigration-related violations ranging from incomplete I-9 records to employment of illegal immigrants, reports the Houston Chronicle. The largest fine ($360,000) imposed on a single business stemmed from an investigation commenced by the Bush administration in 2008. The newspaper’s review of federal records revealed a focus on fining employers rather than arresting undocumented workers, reflecting the Obama administration’s new immigration enforcement strategy that focuses on employer culpability through audits.

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Employers using E-Verify to authenticate employees’ work authorization status are subject to the Three-Day Rule, which requires an employer to create an E-Verify case no later than three business days after an employee first works for pay (commonly referred to as the Hire Date). Confusion sometimes arises, however, because the Hire Date differs depending on whether the E-Verify case is created before or after the first day an employee works for pay. To clarify the matter, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) created a webpage explaining how to determine the Hire Date, and how to calculate the compliance deadline.

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The Contra Costa Times reports that this month over 1,000 businesses will face forensic audits conducted by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Many businesses, e.g., those involved in the food supply chain, have been targeted because they are connected to public safety and to the United States’ “critical infrastructure.”

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released its Semiannual Regulatory Agenda (pdf) for the coming year. Rules addressing the H-1B lottery process and I-9 forms are among the Agency’s regulatory priorities. Continue reading about this development on Littler's Washington D.C. Employment Law Update blog.
 

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The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on August 27 that the expiration date of the current version of the I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) form has been extended for three years, until August 31, 2012. This means that employers can use I-9 forms that have a revision date of either February 2, 2009, or August 7, 2009. The revision dates are printed in small type on the bottom right of the I-9 form.

As a reminder, employers generally must, within three business days of the date that a new employee begins working (on the first day of work for short-term employees), obtain a completed I-9 form and review original documents establishing the employee’s identity and authorization to work in the United States.

To obtain Form I-9 and the Handbook for Employers (PDF), visit www.uscis.gov/i-9. Forms may also be ordered by calling the USCIS toll-free forms line at (800) 870-3676. In addition, employers may use photocopies of the I-9 forms.

This entry was written by Patricia Haim.
 

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The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced that it will begin to investigate workplaces in all 50 states to identify employers who are hiring undocumented workers. Specifically on July 1, 2009, ICE launched a comprehensive audit initiative and issued Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 652 businesses nationwide. States are also beginning to increase their enforcement efforts so employers should take steps to ensure compliance with both federal and state immigration requirements. Continue reading Littler ASAP "Latest Developments in Employment Verification Enforcement" by Jorge R. Lopez, Chadwick M. Graham and Melissa M. Randall.

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On July 1, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiated a significant new audit initiative by issuing Notices of Inspection (“NOIs”) to 652 businesses, which is more in one day than ICE issued throughout the entire last fiscal year. ICE’s announcement of this action stated:

This new initiative illustrates ICE's increased focus on holding employers accountable for their hiring practices and efforts to ensure a legal workforce.

The NOIs alert business owners that ICE will be inspecting their hiring records to determine whether they are complying with employment eligibility verification laws and regulations. The 652 businesses presented with NOIs for a Form I-9 audit were selected as a result of investigations; the names and locations of the businesses were not released.

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the Employment Eligibility Verification form I-9 (Rev. 02/02/09) currently on the USCIS website will continue to be valid for use beyond June 30, 2009.

USCIS has requested that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the continued use of the current version of Form I-9. While this request is pending, the Form I-9 (Rev. 02/02/09) will not expire.

When the extension is approved, USCIS will update Form I-9. Employers will be able to use either the Form I-9 with the new revision date or the Form I-9 with the 02/02/09 revision date at the bottom of the form. 

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Representatives Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and Sam Johnson (R-TX) have introduced a bill that would establish a mandatory electronic verification system to take the place of E-Verify. As reported at Workforce.com, Giffords and Johnson hope their bill, the New Employee Verification Act, will either be the foundation for employment verification in a broader immigration bill or move through Congress on its own.

The proposed legislation would:

• Require all employers to use either the Electronic Employment Verification System (based on the new-hire system used to enforce child support payments) or the Secure Electronic Employment Verification System (which would authenticate an employee’s identity using biometric information). Data for recently hired employees would be checked against Social Security and Department of Homeland Security databases to determine work eligibility.
• Eliminate the I-9 immigration form.
• Establish civil and criminal penalties for employers that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
• Establish federal preemption of state laws on employment verification.
• Require that the Social Security database, which has a 4.1% error rate, be cleaned up before the new system takes effect.

Giffords and Johnson have collaborated on the legislation with The HR Initiative for a Legal Workforce, which is led by the Society for Human Resource Management.

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As discussed in our previous entry, the new Form I-9 (revision date 2/02/2009) is currently scheduled to go into effect on April 3, 2009. The new I-9 form is available on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. The new I-9 and the interim rule creating it were originally published in the Federal Register on December 17, 2008, with a correction published on January 16, 2009. However, on January 30, 2009, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that implementation of the new I-9 would be postponed until April 3, 2009. Notice of the delay appeared in the February 3, 2009 edition of the Federal Register. Continue reading Littler ASAP "Countdown to Effective Date of New I-9" by Jorge R. Lopez and Lisa A. Cottle.

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On December 17, 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published in the Federal Register an interim final rule revising the Form I-9 and List of Acceptable Documents attached thereto. A correction was subsequently published on January 16, 2009, contributing to the confusion already surrounding the new form. DHS later posted the new I-9 at www.uscis.gov indicating that it must be used by all employers effective February 2, 2009. Consequently, numerous interest groups proposed that the implementation of the I-9 be delayed. Late in the afternoon on January 30, 2009, that request was answered – DHS filed a last minute notice announcing that implementation of the form would be postponed until April 3, 2009. Notice of the delay appears in the February 3, 2009 edition of the Federal Register.

The interim rule alters both the I-9 form and the List of Acceptable Documents by changing some of the language on the form itself and adding to and deleting from the List of Acceptable Documents. In Section 1, the employee portion of the Form I-9, DHS has amended the language to include a noncitizen national. A noncitizen national includes someone born in American Samoa, certain citizens of the Trust territories of the Pacific Islands, and some children of noncitizen nationals born outside the United States.
 

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