2023 saw the rollout of a litany of administrative, regulatory, and executive updates and changes that touch virtually all aspects of the U.S. immigration system, with the impact of these changes expected to be felt in full force in 2024. Employers who engage in routine visa sponsorship, skilled immigrants with extensive experience in their respective fields, entrepreneurs, and investors all stand to benefit from many if not all of these changes and are well served by familiarizing themselves with these policy and regulatory changes, updated immigration trends, and the new opportunities they present. Continue reading “New Year, New Opportunities: Trends and Upcoming Developments in Immigration Law”
USCIS gets flexible on I-9 Process, but Employers must stay Vigilant
The I-9 process continues to be the bane of HR existence. Recent accommodations for remote work environments, closed driver’s license agencies, and USCIS delays in printing work permits and green cards are definitely appreciated and helpful, but they also make the process more confusing. Employers are beginning to worry about how they will catch up on viewing all of the original documents they saw remotely during the pandemic, in the USCIS-designated 3-day time frame once their companies return to the office. Meanwhile, I-9 audits and worksite enforcement actions are continuing apace. While following all of the new guidance, employers must also be sure to stick to the basics. Continue reading “USCIS gets flexible on I-9 Process, but Employers must stay Vigilant”
USCIS Announces I-9 and E-Verify Timing Waivers and Modifications in the wake of COVID-19
COVID-19 social distancing directives, State and Federal agency closures and remote work requirements have made it impossible for employers to comply with the normal I-9 and E-Verify regulations on timing and review of employee documents. To address these concerns, USCIS has announced several measures to extend time frames and loosen its normally strict requirements. In this blog, we discuss USCIS suspension of the I-9 requirement to review physical documents, an automatic 60 day extension for all I-9 audit responses, acceptance of expired documents for new hires who are unable to update driver licenses and state IDs, as well as E-verify suspension of the 8 day response time for responding to Tentative Nonconfirmations. Continue reading “USCIS Announces I-9 and E-Verify Timing Waivers and Modifications in the wake of COVID-19”
I-9 Compliance More Important than Ever during E-Verify Outage
By: Valentine Brown
The government has been shut down for 29 days, with no signs go reopening anytime soon. Although USCIS has continued to operate due to being self-funded by application filing fees, E-Verify’s funding was discontinued by the shutdown, so the system has been inoperable since December 22, 2018. For many employers, using E-Verify as part of an immigration compliance scheme is voluntary, however for federal contractors and employers in several states, E-Verify is mandatory. In either case, losing the availability of this valuable double check on employee eligibility to work leaves an employer relying on the I-9 process. Below are a few reminders to get employers through the shutdown and to make sure they are ready when the E-Verify system is back up and running:
Make copies of employee documents used for I-9 completion: To be sure, copying an employee’s identity documents is not required for the I-9 process, however it has increasingly become considered as a best practice for employers, especially in our new age of 6000+ ICE I-9 audits per year. (But remember, for E-Verify employers, photo matching requires employers to make copies of green cards, work permits and U.S. passports when they are presented for verification purposes.) Keeping copies of documents with the I-9 form has several benefits in the shutdown context. At some point the government will reopen and the employee’s information will have to be inputted to the E-Verify system. Having copies of the employee’s documents will serve to ensure that the employer has the correct employee information, for submission and as a double check on the information entered on the I-9 form. Having copies will reduce the likelihood that the employer will have to go back to the employee for additional information once E-Verify is back up and running. Reducing the number of employee contacts during the I-9/E-Verify process reduces the opportunities for unwitting I-9 discrimination to occur, including document abuse and citizenship status discrimination.
Conduct careful review of all documents presented for I-9 purposes: Without the E-Verify check available, employers will be relying on their own judgment as to the validity and veracity of immigration-related documents presented during the shutdown. While it is not necessary for employers to be a fake document expert, it is required that they review the presented documents to make sure they appear valid and relate to the person who is presenting them. Immigration documents, such as work permits and green cards have changed over the years, so determining what is a valid document is not always as easy as it seems it should be. In the M-274 Handbook for Employers, there are many samples of what the various immigration documents look like as well as descriptions of their security features. Employers should use information in the handbook to compare to documents presented if they have questions.
Store shutdown period I-9s together: Best practice is to store I-9s separately from employee files in order to ensure that information on the I-9 forms remains private and is not inadvertently, or purposely used to make employment decisions. I recommend three I-9 files: (1) active employees with no reverification required (2) active employees with reverification required (3) terminated employees stored in order by termination date. I would add another temporary category of I-9s prepared during the shutdown. This will allow employers to easily identify those I-9s that will have to be entered into E-Verify once it is back up and running. After the shutdown is over, the I-9s can be folded back into the three standing files as described above.
With no signs of stopping, the shutdown maybe with us for a while. Taking extra care now with your I-9 forms will ease the burden of catching up on E-Verify entries, once the system is back up and running.
E-Verify Capabilities Continue to Expand
E-Verify is an electronic employment eligibility verification system administered by the federal government. It is voluntary for most employers, but is required to be used by federal contractors and is mandated by several states. In spite of its voluntary nature, many employers choose to use the system in addition to the required I-9 process in order to verify the work authorization of their employees. The E-Verify system has continually been improved since its inception with new capabilities regularly being added. Three recent add-ons are discussed below: Continue reading “E-Verify Capabilities Continue to Expand”