The new administration is likely to have a profound impact on immigration law and enforcement come January 20. As worksite enforcement and general immigration compliance issues were a primary focus of the Trump...more
The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) has just issued some much-needed guidance, through Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), on whether enrollment and use of E-Verify is prohibited in Illinois for private employers that do...more
The USCIS recently introduced E-Verify+, which aims to streamline the employment eligibility verification by combining Form I-9 and E-Verify into a seamless digital process. E-Verify+ has employees complete their Form I-9...more
Over the past few months, the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) of the Department of Justice has entered into several settlements from which employers can learn some valuable lessons so that these discriminatory...more
In Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, 603 U.S. ___ (June 27, 2024), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the SEC’s administrative law judges (ALJs) lack jurisdiction to impose civil penalties for alleged securities...more
8/12/2024
/ Adjudicatory Process ,
Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) ,
Form I-9 ,
Government Agencies ,
H-1B ,
Immigration ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Statutory Authority
From February 2023 to the present, the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) issued four decisions concerning the amount of I-9 penalties.2 In all four cases, the employers underwent Immigration and...more
4/29/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
OCAHO ,
Regulatory Violations
As we start the second quarter of 2024, there are a number of important developments in immigration compliance involving many of the applicable agencies.
...more
As required under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced, through the Federal Register, increases for penalties under the Immigration Reform & Control Act...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its new immigration-related fines/penalties, effective January 15, 2024. Immigration-related violations before the DOL involve these visas: H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B. These increases...more
1/24/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 ,
Fines ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
H-2A ,
H-2B ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Wage and Hour
The new Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, which was released on August 1, 2023, must be used for all new hires, effective November 1, 2023. The grace period—during which an employer could use the new Form I-9 or...more
10/31/2023
/ E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
In anticipation of a possible 2023 government shutdown this weekend, many employers are wondering how a shuttering of U.S. government agencies for budgetary reasons could impact or delay their U.S. immigration processing,...more
10/2/2023
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Government Shutdown ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS
On August 1, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a revised version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, which may be used now but must be used for all new hires and rehires...more
In an ever-evolving digital landscape, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has given employers a new option for verifying employment eligibility. On July 21, 2023, the USCIS announced a final rule,...more
The state of Florida recently enacted legislation that will have a significant impact on employers across the state. Senate Bill 1718 (SB1718), which Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law on May 10, 2023, requires private...more
7/18/2023
/ E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Florida ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
New Legislation ,
USCIS
As was previously reported, employers have until August 30, 2023, to conduct in-person physical verification of identity and employment eligibility documentation for all employees who were onboarded using remote virtual...more
7/17/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Remote Proceedings ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
USCIS
On May 4, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) announced that employers have 30 days to reach I-9 compliance after COVID-19 flexibilities end on July 31, 2023. Under...more
5/22/2023
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
USCIS
In the period of 2022 to the present, the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) has issued eight decisions concerning the amount of I-9 penalties. In all cases, the employers underwent Immigration and...more
3/27/2023
/ Audits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
OCAHO ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Staffing Agencies
The United States government has increased a variety of immigration-related fines/penalties, effective January 13, 2023. The higher penalties are only for those cases where the penalties are assessed on January 13, 2023 or...more
As we enter the new year, it is helpful to look back on recent news in the world of immigration compliance:
Employment of Ukrainian or Afghan Parolees – The USCIS announced that as of November 21, 2022, Ukrainians...more
Dear Littler: We are a multi-state manufacturing company with facilities throughout the United States. Like many companies, we have experienced a great deal of employee turnover in the last few years. Many of our employees...more
11/29/2022
/ Citizenship ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Job Applicants ,
Residency Requirements ,
Residency Status
On October 12, 2022, the USCIS announced that employers should continue to use the current Form I-9 after its expiration date of October 31, 2022, until further notice. It is anticipated that the Department of Homeland...more
10/17/2022
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
On October 11, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a nine-month extension until July 31, 2023, of the policy allowing remote, virtual verification of...more
10/13/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Remote Proceedings ,
USCIS
Since March 2020, the USCIS has allowed virtual, remote I-9 verification where all employees are working remotely due to COVID, or when a new employee, post April 1, 2021, is working remotely due to COVID. Many employers as...more
10/4/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Relief Measures ,
Remote Proceedings ,
Remote Working ,
USCIS
I. The State of the U.S. Workforce -
In the early months of the pandemic, jobs declined by a staggering 22.2 million. The good news is that jobs recovery has been on the rise since February 2020. In July, the number of...more
The July 31, 2022 deadline is rapidly approaching for employers to update the Forms I-9 of employees who presented an expired List B document (establishing the individual’s identity) between May 1, 2020 and April 30, 2022. As...more
7/29/2022
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS