LONG BEACH, CA, October 22, 2010. Immigration Solutions, a leading full service consulting, immigration, and employer compliance organization, announces its new I-9 Employer Resource Center that is uniquely designed to assist businesses in developing and maintaining compliant employment practices.

Reputable industry leaders are being audited, as employer compliance becomes more complex and enforcement (investigations and audits) increase. In order to effectively deal with these issues and avoid the very severe consequences of fines and penalties for non-compliance, employers must take the time to develop a strategy and be prepared in advance with a Compliance Program.

Many companies struggle with determining who to turn to for their I-9 compliance needs. Immigration Solutions approaches its Employer Compliance practice with the same exceptional service level clients have experienced from their other practice areas. Their talented and experienced team offers onsite or offsite in-depth I-9 audits, compliance training, assistance with the development of training manuals and compliance policies and procedures, and on-call consulting services. They additionally assist their clients in responding to government Notices of Inspection and audit requests.

With pricing that is cost-efficient and tailored to the needs of their clients, Immigration Solutions is positioned to offer high touch services and solutions to their clients at affordable prices.

Websites: www.I-9Audits.com
www.immigrationsolution.net

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About Immigration Solutions

Immigration Solutions provides US and Canadian immigration services to individuals and employers throughout the USA and abroad. They specialize in business immigration and have a depth of experience in the IT, health care, arts & entertainment, and sports industries, amongst others. Their services include complex business visas for investors, multinational managers, skilled professionals and outstanding individuals in science, business, education, athletics and entertainment. They additionally provide employer compliance consulting services on proper I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) auditing, training, and work with their clients to develop compliant immigration policies and procedures. They offer these services, as well, to government contractors and advise on FAR E-Verify enrollment and compliance issues.

The Justice Dept announced today that it reached a settlement with Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) to resolve allegations that they engaged in a pattern of citizenship discrimination by imposing discriminatory hurdles to employment for work-authorized individuals by requesting that non-US citizen and naturalized US citizens present more work authorization than required by law. CHW is the 8th largest hospital provider in the nation, operating facilities in California, Nevada and Arizona. CHW agreed to pay $257,000 in civil penalties – the largest amount of civil penalties ever paid to resolve such allegations.

This settlement sends a strong message to all employers how vitally important it is to have staff that is charged with the I-9 process properly trained on the laws governing I-9’s and specifically on each section of the form.  All workers who are authorized to work in the USA have the right to look for a job without encountering discrimination because of their immigration status or national origin”, said Thomas E. Prerez, Asst. Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

We are seeing with  increasing frequency, particularly in the hospitality, restaurant and contracting industries, the collaboration between the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and ICE concerning the recent rash of I-9 audits and work site investigations.  We think this is for a myriad of reasons:

1)      Not meeting employee minimum wage requirements

2)      Non-conformance with H-2B temporary labor certification regulations

3)      Mis-classifying workers as independent contractors

4)      Hiring undocumented workers

5)      I-9 document violations; and

6)      A high volume of uncontested E-Verify Non-confirmations

In September a meeting took place between immigration attorneys and representatives from the USCIS Verification Division to discuss updates with E-Verify.  It was discussed that The Office of Special Counsel and E-Verify have signed an MOU to share information  between the two agencies, enabling the OSC to increase its role in the enforcement of E-Verify policies, specifically related to discrimination and employer use of the E-Verify system.

E-Verify is particularly monitoring employers that are suspected of misusing the system for pre-screening purposes or who appear to be providing data that is inconsistent with the size of their business and their usage of the E-Verify system.

If you’re an employer and you receive a Notice of Inspection (NOI) or a Subpoena, it is highly advisable that you contact an attorney that specializes in employer compliance issues before you provide any documentation whatsoever to ICE agents, DHS, or DOL.

For more information on E-Verify, we link to the Quick Reference Guide for E-Verify Employer Agents and to the E-Verify menu on the USCIS website.

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Immigration Solutions provides US and global visa services to individuals and employers throughout the USA and abroad.  We specialize in business immigration and have a depth of experience in the IT, health care, arts & entertainment, and sports industries, amongst others.  Our services include complex business visas for investors, multinational managers, skilled professionals and outstanding individuals in science, business, education, athletics and entertainment.  We additionally provide employer compliance consulting services on proper I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) auditing, training, and work with our clients to develop compliant immigration policies and procedures.  We offer these services, as well, to government contractors and advise on FAR E-Verify enrollment and compliance issues.

USCIS has updated and revised the E-Verify manuals for both Employers and Federal Contractors.

The new manuals reflect recent changes to the E-Verify website and offer additional guidance and clarification. Employers or their agents who use E-Verify, federal contractors who have the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause in their contracts, and employers considering using E-Verify should become familiar with the new manuals.

Note that there are some new FAQ’s with detailed instructions for FAR contractors that have the FAR E-Verify clause in their contracts.  Also, note that web service developers have until December 2010 to add the required functionality from the June 2010 E-Verify redesign.

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We find in our I-9 audit practice that  most employers have problems with their I-9 documentation and that if discovered by ICE during an audit, would cost them thousands of dollars in fines.  We also find that most employees charged with handling I-9’s have never received any formal training.  If you are aware that your I-9’s have problems, we urge you to not ignore it.  Please take a look at our services and solutions.  Our talented and knowledgeable compliance team can discuss the following with you:

• Full onsite or offsite I-9 audit with analysis and report of most common and prevalent issues and instructions as to how to correct your I-9 forms
• A partial onsite or offsite I-9 Audit with analysis and report of most common and prevalent issues and instructions as to how to correct your I-9 forms
• I-9 Compliance Training on the laws that govern I-9 processing and management with specific training on most common and prevalent issues
• A training program that will teach you how to perform your own I-9 Audit
• The drafting and implementation of an I-9 Policy and Procedure Manual

You can contact our office here.

USCIS has released a new 97-page E-Verify User Manual for Federal Contractors today.  What with ICE announcing all time record breaking highs on Employer Worksite Investigations for 2010, now is the time to act upon getting your I-9’s in order, particularly if you know that there are paperwork violations buried in them and particularly if you know that you’ve had turnover in personnel that are charged with handling your I-9’s.  Please see our previous Blog entry on this topic today.

Our compliance team can plan and structure a project to your needs that will ease the uncertainty of going through a partial or full audit of your I-9 employee population.  We ask all our clients and readership to strongly consider consulting with us, if you haven’t already, to discuss the management of your employee verification program, policy and procedures.

The Meg Whitman scenario playing out in the news the last few days, is a good opportunity to address this issue and just how exactly the SSA No-Match Letter process works.

If the combination of name and SSN on a Form W-2 can not be matched to an SSA record, SSA is unable to attribute the earnings to a worker’s record. There are a number of reasons why reported information may not agree with our records, such as typographical errors, unreported name changes, inaccurate or incomplete employer records or misuse of an SSN.

What is a No-Match Letter?

After SSA processes the wage reports submitted by the employers, they attempt to resolve items that cannot be matched by sending letters to employees, employers and self-employed individuals to inform them when a reported name or SSN does not match SSA’s records. These letters are referred to as “no-match” letters and their purpose is to obtain corrected information to help SSA identify the individual to whom the earnings belong so that the earnings can be posted to the individual’s earnings record.

No-match letters fall under two categories:

• Employer No Match Letters — These letters may also be referred to as Employer Correction Request or Educational Correspondence (EDCOR) letters; and

• No Match Letters sent to workers whose earnings could not be credited to SSA’s records are referred to as Decentralized Correspondence or DECOR letters.

SSA began sending no-match letters to workers in 1979 and to employers in 1994.

Who gets a No-Match Letter?

When SSA processes wage reports, it notifies every worker whose name and SSN could not be matched to SSA’s records. This letter is sent to the address on the worker’s Form W-2. If there is no address or an address is not found in the Postal Service database of valid addresses, this letter is sent to the employer. The new DHS regulation does not address these letters.

Employer Notices (EDCOR)

Approximately two weeks after the release of the worker letters, SSA sends employer no-match letters. Currently, these are sent to any employer who reported more than 10 no-matches that represented more than 0.5% of the W-2s submitted by that employer.

The Employer notice advises of the no-matches and asks for corrected information.

Employer notices can list up to 500 SSNs (no names) that could not be matched (the employer can contact SSA for a full list if there are more than 500 errors). The employer is asked to prepare Forms W-2c (Corrected Wage and Tax Statement) for each of the SSNs listed in the Employer notice that the employer is able to correct.

If you are enrolled in E-Verify and receive a TNC

When a Tentative Non-Confirmation (TNC) is issued, the employer must notify the employee of the TNC and give the employee the opportunity to contest that finding.  If the employee chooses to contest the SSA TNC, he or she has eight business days to visit an SSA office with the required documents to initiate the process to prove identity and support the correction of the SSA record. Until the TNC is resolved, even if it takes longer than eight days, the employee must be allowed to keep working and cannot be fired or have any other employment-related action taken against him or her because of the TNC.  If the employee fails to contact SSA within the eight day contest period, the employee is considered a no show and a final non-confirmation is issued by E-Verify.  At this point, the employer should discuss this situation with their immigration attorney and seriously consider terminating employment.  A recent electronic business process enhancement, EV-STAR, allows SSA to use the E-Verify system to inform the employer of the case resolution once the employee visits SSA and resolves the issue.

For employees who successfully resolve a TNC, correcting SSA records is a useful result of the E-Verify process, helping individuals identify and resolve problems with their Social Security records. The work done to update records to resolve an E-Verify mismatch would need to be done at the time the individual applies for Social Security benefits.

Here is a sample of the E-Verify Referral Notice to the Employer when there is an SSS No-Match.  For more information on this topic, we link to our website where we have our employer compliance resource center and list of services and solutions for employers.

Fines Based Upon Inadequate Electronic I-9 System used to Track Worker Eligibility

Abercrombie & Fitch has been fined $1,047,110 in a settlement reached today with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ((ICE) for numerous technology-related deficiences in the company’s electronic I-9 system.

Referencing the ICE Press Release, the settlement is the result of a November 2008 Form I-9 inspection of Abercrombie & Fitch’s retail stores in Michigan.  The company was fully cooperative during the investigation and no instances of the knowing hire of unauthorized aliens were discovered. Since the initial inspection, Abercrombie & Fitch has taken measures to revise its I-9 Electronic Compliance Program, and has begun to implement new procedures to prevent future violations of federal immigration laws.

“Employers are responsible not only for the people they hire but also for the internal systems they choose to utilize to manage their employment process and those systems must result in effective compliance,” said Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of ICE HSI for Ohio and Michigan.  “We are pleased to see Abercrombie working diligently to complete the implementation of an effective compliance system; however, we know that there are other companies who are not doing so. This settlement should serve as a warning to other companies that may not yet take the employment verification process seriously or provide it the attention it warrants.”

With the above being said — this is a definite attention getter!  There’s alot of I-9 software on the market.  Some we’re familiar with – and others we are not.  Electronic I-9 software must adhere to certain recordkeeping standards and technical safeguards in order to ensure that the underlying I-9s are accurate, authentic and trustworthy.  Systems must retain the same sequence of data elements on the paper I-9.

The main point here is to recognize that your I-9 system is a compliance system which must serve a unique  compliance function.  Yes, we know that you want the fancy tools and flagging systems, but the essential fundamentals are critical. We like the following questions provided by LawLogix’ electronic I-9 team:

1. Will the vendor provide third party independent evaluation of the system (preferably by an attorney with deep I-9 experience)?
2. What type of guarantees does the vendor provide in the contract (e.g., indemnification for gross negligence)?
3. Is the vendor able to provide 5 similarly situated client references that use the same I-9 system?  This is an important one and will speak directly to how well the vendor is supporting their product, releasing  updates, responding to constant changes in I-9 policy and procedure.  You should ask the references whether or not they have been subjected to an ICE audit using the vendor’s system and how quickly the vendor was able to respond to ICE demands.

Conducting your due diligence goes without saying – don’t believe all the hype re bundled in legal services.  LawLogix, who we are familiar with and highly recommend, state that there is no “one size that fits all”.  Careful planning is required and discussion with trusted immigration counsel advisable prior to any decisions being made.

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If you’d like to schedule a time to discuss your I-9s, whether that be a randomly selected or full audit, staff training or working with you to establish a set pf policies and procedures around handling your I-9 compliance, we offer solutions and services both onsite or offsite by our talented and trained legal compliance team.  Give us  a call.  562 612.3996 – www.employer-compliance.com

ICE has filed a 60-day notice for a new information collection application with the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) for their IMAGE Program (ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers) that is the education component of the Office of Investigations (OI) Worksite Enforcement program.  The Notice is available here.  Comments will be accepted for 60 days until August 10, 2010, and should be sent to the person named in the Notice.

In an article published on ILW.com on the subject, the author states:

In July of 2006, ICE announced two measures billed as “voluntary partnerships with the government.” The first is a list of what the agency considers to be “Best Hiring Practices.” The second is a voluntary program entitled the “ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers,” also referred to as IMAGE , which it has been working on since at least July of 2005. The government is actively promoting these programs to employers.

What are considered Best Hiring practices?

As part of the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers, the (IMAGE) program, DHS recommends the following “best hiring practices” as follows:

• Use E-Verify to verify the employment eligibility of all new hires.
• Use the Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS) and make a good-faith effort to correct and verify the names and Social Security numbers of the current workforce.
• Establish a written hiring and employment eligibility verification policy (I-9 policy)
• Establish an internal compliance and training program related to the hiring and employment verification process, including completion of the I-9 form, how to detect the fraudulent use of documents in the verification process, and how to use E-Verify and SSNVS.  Require the I-9 and E-Verify process to be conducted only by an individual who has received appropriate training, and include a secondary review as part of each employee’s verification “to minimize the potential for a single individual to subvert the process.”
• Arrange for annual I-9 audits by an external auditing firm or a trained employee not otherwise involved in the I-9 process.
• Establish a procedure to report to ICE credible information of suspected criminal misconduct in the employment eligibility verification process.
• Establish a program to assess subcontractors’ compliance with employment eligibility verification requirements. Encourage contractors to incorporate IMAGE Best Practices and when practicable incorporate the verification requirements in subcontractor agreements.
• Establish a protocol for responding to letters received from federal and state government agencies indicating that there is a discrepancy between the agency’s information and the information provided by the employer or employee (for example, “no-match” letters received from the Social Security Administration).
• Establish a tip line mechanism (e.g., inbox, e-mail) for employees to report activity relating to the employment of unauthorized workers, and a protocol for responding to employee tips.
• Establish and maintain appropriate policies, practices, and safeguards against use of the verification process for unlawful discrimination, and to ensure that U.S. citizens and authorized workers do not face discrimination with respect to hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee because of citizenship status or national origin.
• Maintain copies of any documents accepted as proof of identity and/or employment authorization for all new hires.

Note:  It is important to notice that some of these points listed above have critical content.  We link to the ILW.com excellent analysis of Best Practices and the IMAGE program for employers to carefully consider prior to enrolling in these programs.

Should you require further assistance or consultation regarding these programs, please contact our office.

Big changes are coming to E-Verify in June that will enhance its usability, security, accuracy and efficiency. The USCIS has announced that its newly redesigned E-Verify web interface will go live on June 13, 2010. As previously reported, the new E-Verify look (internally called E-Verify 3.0) promises to offer “a clean and modern design, easy and intuitive navigation, and clear and simple language.  A new home page, a new case alerts feature, improved case management and a streamlined tutorial are among the dozens of improvements coming to E-Verify.

Check out the new E-Verify Redesign section of the website to learn more about what’s coming and what E-Verify users can do to prepare.

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USCIS Revises EAD Card (Employment Authorization Document) – Effective June 4th

What does this mean in the I-9 context?   The EAD Card (or Form I-766) is an acceptable List A document, which establishes both identity and work authorization. It’s important to note, however, that the EAD is evidence of temporary work authorization which expires at some point in time. Before that expiration occurs, employers need to re-verify the employee’s continuing eligibility to the work in the US. (in Section 3 of the form) in order to avoid penalties and other issues.  Most employers storing pen & paper I-9s utilize a ticker or calendar system for reminders, while those with electronic I-9 systems will receive automatic email reminders and prompts for re-verification.

The EAD is also noteworthy for employers participating in E-Verify, since it is one of two documents (the I-551 green card being the other) which must be photocopied and retained by the employer during the I-9 process. This photocopy requirement, outlined in the E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding, enables employers to use the E-Verify photo matching tool to compare the document against DHS records. For more information on the photo tool, please visit this brief outline here.

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Immigration Solutions has created a package of services and solutions to assist you with your compliance procedures that can be tailored to your specific needs and concerns.  Today is the time to develop a strategy and be prepared in advance with an Immigration Compliance Program that simply outlines how your company will manage its employer compliance responsibilities.

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.

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