Form I-9 Update
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on August 27, 2009, that the federal Office of Management and Budget has approved an extension of the current Form I-9 to August 31, 2012. As a result, the USCIS has amended the Form I-9 to reflect to reflect an updated revision date of August 7, 2009. This revision date appears in the lower right hand corner of the form.
The USCIS has indicated that employers may use the Form I-9 with a revision date of either February 2, 2009 (the prior revision date) or August 7, 2009 (the current revision date).
The August 7, 2009 version of the Form I-9 (English and Spanish) can be downloaded for free from the Free Resources page of our website.
State Immigration Law Compliance
On July 22, 2009, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a bipartisan research organization that serves state legislators and their staffs, reported that, as of June 30, 2009, seven states had enacted a collective total of 10 laws relating to immigration and employment. These seven states are: Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Tennessee, and Utah. Additionally, two bills were vetoed in Georgia and Minnesota, while three bills in Illinois and one in Oregon were sent to the respective governors—but remain unsigned. Furthermore, legislatures in Georgia and Nebraska have passed omnibus, immigration-related legislation dealing with employment issues as well as other areas.
The NCSL report also indicated that these new state laws include employer sanctions related to the hiring of unauthorized workers and penalties related to the employment eligibility verification requirements. This activity adds to the record expansion of state legislation involving immigration that has developed over the states’ frustration with Congress’s failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform. At the present time, 46 states have some form of legislation dealing with immigration issues from identification/driver’s licenses to employment and education. This means that employers seeking to comply with all immigration requirements also must consult the laws of the states in which they operate or do business.
USCIS Schedules Site Visits to Verify H-1B Employment
The USCIS has started sending investigators to the sites of employers who have secured an approved H-1B petition to verify that the facts presented in the petition were accurate and that the employee is being paid what the Labor Condition Application requires. The funds for these investigations come from the $500 Fraud Prevention and Detection fee that must be paid in connection with each new H-1B or L nonimmigrant petition.
The investigations range from the straightforward to the covert. In many instances, the investigators will arrive unannounced, request to speak with the relevant Human Resources representative and review the pertinent facts of the H-1B petition to ensure compliance. In other instances, the investigator may call the sponsored foreign national directly. The bottom line is that the USCIS seeks to determine if the sponsoring company is a real operating business and whether the foreign national is a “legitimate” employee working in the sponsored position and being paid the required wage. Employers who might have difficulty with such an audit should contact legal counsel immediately.
