The government contracting official decides if your contract qualifies for the E-Verify clause and if you meet the following criteria:

• The contract was awarded on or after the Federal contractor rule effective date of September 8, 2009 and includes the FAR E-Verify clause
• The contract has a period of performance that is more than 120 days
• The contract’s value exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold of $100,000
• At least some portion of the work under the contract is performed in the United States

What if you use Subcontractors?

All subcontractors must also verify all existing employees directly performing work under the covered contract. Contractors will need to include a clause for a subcontractor if they meet the following criteria:

• Is for commercial or non-commercial services or construction
• Exceeds $3,000; and
• Includes work performed in the United States

We have a talented team of attorneys and specialists to assist you with pre-Everify audits, reporting and training to get you ready for enrollment. Call us to arrange a consultation today.  562 612.3996.  Our Compliance Services and Solutions: http://www.immigrationsolution.netemployer_compliance_services_solutions.php

ICE is not backing off sending I-9 audit notices to US employers.  It’s latest  round of 180 NOI’s (Notice of Inspection) were sent to employers March 2nd in 5 Southeastern states:   Louisiana. Alabama, Arkansas Tennessee and Mississippi.  The notices alert business owners that ICE will be inspecting their hiring records to determine whether or not they are complying with employment eligibility verification laws and regulations.

Employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This form requires employers to review and record the individual’s identity document(s) and determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and related to the individual.

Due to the ongoing, law enforcement sensitive nature of these audits, the names and locations of the businesses will not be released at this time.

We link to the Press Release on the ICE website

A strong reminder to employers: Compliance with immigration law is crucial in this enforcement climate. We are in a historic moment regarding U.S. Immigration reform. Major U.S. companies have been slapped with steep fines for non-compliance with immigration laws and contractors have been closed and even jailed for employing illegal immigrants. Now is the time for prudent companies to implement a Corporate Immigration Compliance Program. Our firm’s years of experience and knowledge with employer compliance and worksite enforcement issues can assist your business in offsetting the extent of sanctions and other ICE enforcement threats.  Because of this, employer compliance is becoming more complex and enforcement (investigations and audits) is increasing.

We have a very informative area on our website  relating to this topic.  Please refer to our services and solutions and contact us if you require assistance with I-9 management, audits or training.

First they were arrested and faced deportation under what has proven to be the Obama administration’s only workplace raid.  Then they were given work permits and told they could stay in the USA while their employer was prosecuted…

Now, the more than 2 dozen undocumented workers arrested during the February raid are again facing deportation.

The deportations and likely removals are a conclusion to a case that displeased both advocates for illegal immigrants and those who lobby for stricter immigration enforcement.

In this case – the company, the workers and even the Seattle US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office that conducted the raid came in for some sort of punishment or special scrutiny

Shortly following the raid, ICE officials traded urgent emails going over Q&A sent by an apparently miffed White House, according to emails obtained by the AP through a federal records request.

In all, 27 workers have been deported; 7 have been allowed to leave the country voluntarily and 15 await court dates with an immigration judge, said ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers.

Read more

[Courtesy of Tracker Corp]    On November 19, 2009, DHS announced issuance of 1,000 additional I-9 Audit notices to employers across the country, focusing in particular on those providing critical infrastructure and other key resources. This is on top of the 654 I-9 audit notices issued earlier this year. Speaking at a workforce symposium in Washington, DC, Assistant Secretary John Morton (of Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE]) reiterated the agency’s commitment to creating a culture of voluntary compliance through aggressive investigations and outreach programs. Assistant Secretary Morton also provided recent statistics, showing the increased level of investigations and fines:

DHS also released statistics from the 654 notices sent in July 2009. The ICE agents identified roughly 14,000 suspect documents, assessed over $2 million in fines, and issued warnings to 326 employers.

We link to the press release announcing these findings.  We link to more details on the locations of the 1,000 companies in the latest round of audits

This is an extremely informative Q&A session between AILA and  USCIS that addresses the following major  topics:

1)  Excessive documentation requests for L-1 RFEs including L-1Bs involving placements at 3rd party sites

2)  H-1B Cap Exempt employers

3)  Right of Counsel for H-1B Site Visits…..and more

To highlight a few USCIS responses:

1) AILA provided examples to USCIS of explaining its RFE requests by providing examples (rather than endless lists of mandatory documents) of how to respond

2)  Re Counting periods of time abroad for L-1 Eligibility:  USCIS stated,  “Contrary to the AFM, precedent decisions and long practice, USCIS now states that only time in the US in L status, rather than any ‘authorized periods of stay in the US for the foreign employer’, does not interrupt the prior year of employment.

3)  Right to Counsel during the course of audits and site visits & training for Investigative Officers:

a.  “USCIS is in the process of amending several forms (Form I-129 instructions) and receipt notices to advise that USCIS may conduct compliance site inspections at any time pre or post adjusication.  There are currently no plans to provide advance notice of a site inspection conducted under the ASVVP”.

b.  Advance notice is provided by FDNS officers when conducting site visits/administrative inquiries on cases containing elements of suspeced fraud unless the officer believes that advance notice would jeopardize or hamper the site visit.  FDNS officers also provide notice to attorneys of record when conducting site visits under the Benefit Fraud Assessment and Compliance Program.

c.  Are petitioners/beneficiaries informed of their right to call their attorney and have the attorney present before questioning commences?  “Participation in an ASVVP compliance site inspection/any USCIS site visit, is volunary”.

d.  “A petitioner/beneficiary/other persons will be allowed to contact their counsel if they are immediately available (in person or by phone), however, such contact should not unduly delay the process or entail unusual accommodations in which case the site inspection or site visit may be terminated”.

e.  Site visits will not be rescheduled if an attorney cannot be present.  If the employer’s attorney is not available, the Inspector will note this in their report.  The report will be reviewed for follow-up action, if appropriate.

4)  Site Visit Officer Training:  “Training is provided to site inspectors and immigration officers during their basic training after their entry on duty.  The inspectors collect and report information which is then analyzed by immigration officers who do have appropriate immigration law training.”

Other topics in this report covered termination of empoyment authorization documents, I-130 denials that are appealed, Civil Surgeons training and monitoring, etc.   Well worth the read through.

We link to the Q&A document

A Compliance Review Report was recently released in support of the Administrative Site Visit Verification Program to assist inspectors. The report outlines the  type of information USCIS is seeking when site visits are conducted.  We note that if an individual requests the presence of an attorney, and an attorney is not immediately available, the site visit is terminated.  Remember, a subpena is not required by the FDNS in order to complete an inspection because USCIS governs the fling of immigration petitions, and the government is permitted to take testimony and conduct broad investigations relating to pending petitions.

The inspectors are looking at the overall appearance of the facility, whether or not there was a representative of authority available to speak with them, whether or not the facility appears to be a legitimate business – and more.  We link to the Report and to an AILA Practice Pointer Article about FDNS (The Office of Fraud, Detection and National Security).

Please feel free to contact Immigration Solutions with any questions if you require assistance with work site compliance of any kind.

A memo by Marcy M. Forman, Director, Office of Investigations at ICE, for Assistant Director, Deputy Assistant Directors and Special Agents in Charge, outlines ICE’s new Worksite Enforcement Strategy.

We additionally link to an accompanying ICE Fact Sheet and an Overview of Worksite Enforcement.

Our Immigration Newsletter and Podcast are now available.  This month’s issue addresses Immigration Reform, Employer Compliance Issues, Healthcare and IT news.  We link here

House-Senate conferees for the Legislative Branch appropriations bill have agreed to the language for the conference report. The new language also includes a “Continuing Resolution” to fund the government through October 31st (current funding for all federal discretionary programs was set to expire on September 30, 2009). The “CR” also extends E-Verify’s authorization for an additional 31 days according to information on the House Appropriations Committee website.

DHS has released some modifications to the FAR E-Verify enrollment, introducing 2 options to choose from when enrolling for the first time or when updating your profile on the ‘Maintain Company’ page, as follows:

◦ Federal Contractor with E-Verify Clause

◦ Federal Contractor without E-Verify Clause

If you selected the ‘Federal Contractor’ designation when you enrolled or updated before September 8^th, you will notice that your designation has been changed to either Federal Contractor without (if you signed up before 9/8/09 and did not take the refresher tutorial or the Federal Contractor tutorial) or with E-Verify Clause if you enrolled in either refresher tutorial.

If you selected Federal Contractor after September 8^th, you are now designated as a Federal Contractor with E-Verify Clause.