Employer Immigration and Compliance Services
In a world where remote work has become a prevailing norm, traditional processes are evolving to adapt to this new reality. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recognized this shift and recently introduced a groundbreaking policy that allows for remote document inspection in the Form I-9 verification process. This policy not [...]
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses across the United States have faced numerous challenges in adapting to remote work environments. One critical area impacted by this shift has been the verification of employment eligibility through Form I-9. To accommodate remote work, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced temporary measures allowing for [...]
In our office, and in the broader H-1B community, we are seeing instances and reports of H-1B petition RFEs aimed at ensuring compliance with the Simeio-line of guidance issued by USCIS in 2015. Specifically, we are seeing RFEs on H-1B petitions (amendments, mostly, but also for extensions) where USCIS is questioning the timeliness or the [...]
In the era of increased immigration enforcement under President Trump, our foreign national clients and readers are increasingly asking about the requirements on carrying specific immigration documents with them while they are in the U.S. – whether [...]
On November 14, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification which is available to use starting immediately. Starting Jan. 22, 2017, employers must use only the new version, dated 11/14/2016 N. Until then, they can continue to use the version dated 03/08/2013 N or the new [...]
A recent class action lawsuit serves as a reminder that employment policies for H-1B workers must comply not only with Federal immigration laws, but also state and local labor rules. On November 9, 2015, Accenture PLC, a global professional services company, became the defendant in a class action lawsuit filed in New York State. The [...]
On October 9th 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown approved Assembly Bill No. 622 (AB 622). AB 622 is intended to prevent employment discrimination effected through improper use of the federal E-Verify system – the mostly voluntary online program allowing registered employers to check the employment authorization of new employees. AB 622 does not mandate or [...]
The April 9, 2015 AAO decision In Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC (PDF copy) put many H-1B employers (mainly those who place H-1B workers at third-party worksites) in a position to scramble and assess their current level of compliance with the H-1B regulations, as they would be interpreted by USCIS in accordance with the Simeio [...]
In today’s globalized economy, more and more industries rely on telecommuters and remote employees to fill in positions, whether part-time or full-time. One of the challenges that our corporate clients are faced with in such a global market is the difficulty of getting remote employees to appear in person at the employer’s location and complete [...]
The short answer is yes. Benching H-1B workers can lead to a criminal visa fraud indictment. Employers who hire H-1B employees and fail to pay the wages indicated in the Labor Condition Application during a work stoppage may be violating the terms set forth in the Department of Labor regulations. The practice of “benching” H-1B [...]
