Citing a rise in the use of electronic communications in the workplace and an increase in the number of employers providing documents to employees electronically, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a...more
3/27/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Notice Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
Employers seeking to sponsor H-1B workers for fiscal year 2020 can begin filing petitions on April 1, 2019, for a start date of October 1, 2019. The H-1B visa is used by businesses that want to employ foreign nationals to...more
E-Verify, the electronic immigration system that employers use to confirm employees’ eligibility to work in the United States, has resumed operation. E-Verify was unavailable during the longest federal government shutdown in...more
1/30/2019
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Government Shutdown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Required Forms ,
Trump Administration ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
USCIS
When the federal government partially shut down on December 22, 2018, so did E-Verify, the online system for verifying a new hire’s eligibility to work. Employers that are obligated to or have chosen to use E-Verify have...more
1/15/2019
/ E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Government Shutdown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Trump Administration ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
USCIS
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have partnered to establish a framework to efficiently manage and maintain information sharing to better detect and eliminate fraud, abuse,...more
5/17/2018
/ Buy American Act ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Domestic Hiring Policy ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Foreign Workers ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Employers seeking to sponsor H-1B workers for Fiscal Year 2019 can begin filing petitions on April 2, 2018 (April 1 is a Sunday), for a start date of October 1, 2018. ...more
2/9/2018
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Lottery ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
Increased immigration enforcement and a reduction in illegal entry into the United States remain among the Trump administration's highest priorities. Notably, Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan has reportedly ordered Homeland...more
11/9/2017
/ Audits ,
Business Interruption ,
Deportation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Raids ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants
On October 23, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) rescinded policy guidelines in effect since April 2004 regarding requests for the extension of certain nonimmigrant visas (i.e., visa petitions...more
On October 5, 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 450 (“AB 450”), imposing new requirements for public and private employers regarding immigration worksite enforcement actions by Immigration...more
10/20/2017
/ Business Interruption ,
Deportation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
New Legislation ,
Raids ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants
As a reminder, on July 17, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a revised version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, which employers must begin using no later than...more
Recent actions by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) indicate that employers seeking to hire foreign workers will likely face a more stringent visa approval process....more
8/18/2017
/ Buy America ,
Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
L-1B ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
On April 18, 2017, President Trump signed the "Buy American and Hire American" executive order (EO), which addresses H-IB visas. The EO calls for the application of existing U.S. laws to visa recipients and the revaluation...more
4/19/2017
/ Buy America ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Lottery ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
This is a reminder that, as of March 31, 2017, employers will not have access to E-Verify records that were created on or before Dec. 31, 2006.
E-Verify is an internet-based system that compares information from the...more
On Friday, March 3, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that effective April 3, 2017, it will temporarily suspend premium processing for H-1B petitions. This suspension may last for...more
3/6/2017
/ Executive Orders ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-129 ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
Dear Littler: A former employee recently reapplied for an open position at our company. In reviewing the new-hire paperwork, we noticed that her social security number did not match the one we had on file previously. Her new...more
2/23/2017
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Eligibility ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS ,
Verification Requirements
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) rolled out a new Form I-9 in November 2016. Starting January 22, 2017, all employers must use the new Form I-9, which is dated November 14, 2016 (the edition date is on...more
1/18/2017
/ Electronic Filing ,
Eligibility ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Required Forms ,
U.S. Customs ,
USCIS ,
Verification Requirements ,
Visas
Effective August 10, 2016, Colorado has eliminated the requirement that employers collect and retain state employment verification forms for each new hire. The Colorado General Assembly concluded that the state collection...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) takes the position that employers must physically review original documents in the actual presence of a new hire when completing the attestation in Section 2 of the Form I-9 (the...more
8/15/2016
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
OCAHO ,
Popular ,
Staffing Agencies