Changes to E-Verify coming on June 13.

USCIS is rolling out changes to E-Verify, including a redesigned web page, on June 13. In the words of CIS

Big changes are coming to E-Verify in June that will enhance its usability, security, accuracy and efficiency. The newly redesigned E-Verify features a clean and modern design, easy and intuitive navigation, and clear and simple language. A new home page, a reimagined 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 E-Verify website at www.uscis.gov/e-verify_redesign to learn more about what’s coming and how to prepare. The new section highlights several of the exciting new features and offers information on how to get a sneak preview in June before the site launches.

Although not clear from the CIS website, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) advises that employer MUST attend one of the free webinars before they can use E-Verify for new employees.

CIS feels that the new E-Verify has the following advantages:

• Simplified case management.
• Easier employment verification.
• New case results and case alert (for cases needing attention) features.
• Improved procedures for closing a case.
• Ability to see the memorandum of Understanding (MOU) online.
• Simplified terms.

For more information on E-Verify, see my prior blog postings here.

ICE sends audit notices to 180 new businesses

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is issuing Notices of Inspection (NOIs) of I-9 forms to 180 businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. 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.

The notices warn  business owners that ICE will be inspecting their hiring records to determine whether they are complying with employment eligibility verification laws and regulations. The names of the businesses have not been released.

See the ICE press release here.  For information on I-9 requirements, see this blog posting.

OSC Winter 2010 newsletter

The Department of Justice's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) has published its Winter 2010 newsletter here. The OSC, in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provisions of US immigration law. Employers are obliged to obey immigration laws by hiring only authorized workers, however they also must not violate anti-discrimination laws when hiring or firing workers.  

The Winter 2010 mewsletter explains the OSC's recent enforcement activity, E-Verify updates,  interagency collaboration, and other topics.

1,000 more employers being investigated

I have blogged before about the current administration's increased enforcement of immigration laws at worksites. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced yesterday that it had issued NOIs (Notices of Inspection) to another 1,000 employers nationwide. View the press release here.

The audits involve a detailed analysis of the employers' Forms I-9. This form should be completed for every employee on hiring, and it verifies the employee's identity and work authorization.   

The press release also provides statistics since the increased enforcement started last April:

• 45 businesses and 47 individuals debarred;
  
  
  
  • 0 businesses and 1 individual were debarred during same period in FY 2008.
  
  
  
  
• 142 Notices of Intent to Fine (NIF) totaling $15,865,181;
  
  
  
  • ICE issued 32 NIFs totaling $2,355,330 in all of FY 2008.
  
  
  
  
• 45 Final Orders totaling $798,179;
  
  
  
  • ICE issued eight Final Orders totaling $196,523 during the same period in FY 2008.
  
  
  
  
• 1,897 cases initiated;
  
  
  
  • ICE initiated 605 cases during the same period in FY 2008.
  
  
  
  
• 1,069 Form I-9 Inspections;
  
  
  
  • ICE initiated 503 Form I-9 Inspections in all of FY 2008.
  
  
  
  

In July, ICE issued 654 NOIs to businesses nationwide in the largest operation of its kind before today - part of ICE's effort to audit businesses suspected of using illegal labor.

Statistics resulting from the 654 audits announced in July:

• ICE agents reviewed more than 85,000 Form I-9s and identified more than 14,000 suspect documents - approximately 16 percent of the total number reviewed.
• To date, 61 NIFs have been issued, resulting in $2,310,255 in fines. In addition, 267 cases are currently being considered for Notices of Intent to Fine (NIFs).
• ICE closed 326 cases after businesses were found to be in compliance with employment laws or after businesses were served with a Warning Notice in expectation of future compliance.
  

The New York Times published an article on this subject today.  It notes that

The audits, however, have resulted in large-scale dismissals at the hands of employers, leaving the government one step removed.

In September, American Apparel, a clothing maker with a large garment factory in downtown Los Angeles, fired about 1,800 immigrant employees — more than a quarter of its work force — after a federal audit turned up irregularities in identity documents the workers presented when they were hired. 

Employer pays almost $1/2 million fine for hiring undocumented workers

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency that investigates and enforces immigration matters, issued a press release confirming that a southwest Missouri poultry-processing plant where 136 illegal alien workers were arrested in 2007, paid a $450,000 fine last week.

George’s Processing Inc., paid the fine as part of a settlement agreement, according to the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 137 illegal alien workers in May 2007 at the firm’s poultry-processing plant near Cassville. The workers included 28 who were criminally prosecuted for various immigration violations, including falsely claiming U.S. citizenship. Two of the company’s hiring personnel were convicted of harboring illegal aliens and inducing illegal aliens to remain in the U.S.

E-Verify Manual Online Link.

As I have discussed in prior blog postings, the requirement that certain federal contractors use E-Verify took effect on September 8, 2009. USCIS has a comprehensive user manual for employers available online here.

Federal Contractor E-verify mandatory today

Despite last-minute appeals and lawsuits to delay its implementation, the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) rule takes effect today. The rule requires contractors to use an electronic system (E-verify) to verify whether their employees are eligible to work in the U.S.

The E-Verify requirement would apply to federal contracts with a performance period longer than 120 days and a value over $100,000. The rule covers subcontractors if a prime contract includes the clause. For subcontracts that flow from those prime contracts, the rule extends the E-Verify requirement to subcontracts for services or for construction with a value over $3,000.

Employers who would like more information are encouraged to sign up for the free webinars being hosted by DHS: link.

For more details, see the prior blog posts here.

Wall Street Journal article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125236773673291025.html

DHS offering free webinars on employer compliance issues

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is offering free 1.5 hour webinars on various dates, covering employer compliance topics. The webinars will include a topic overview, demonstration of the E-Verify system if applicable, and a question and answer session.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the E-Verify program and its proper use as well as other select topics. The overview will allow participants to receive a full understanding of the program and key features. The webinars will cover the following topics:

• Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
• E-Verify
• FAR E-Verify.

Registration for the webinars is required, and more details are here.

CIS to increase employer site visits

USCIS has received significant funding for a substantially increased volume of random site visits to employer petitioners. Over the coming year, many thousands more employers will be visited by USCIS, often unannounced.

FDNS (Office of Fraud Detection and National Security) visits are to verify the existence of the employer, discuss the information that the employer has provided to USCIS in their petition(s) and whether the foreign national is working in accordance with the terms of their admission to the USA. Sometimes the visits relate to an approved petition, and sometimes they are used to check information in a pending petition.

Officers commonly ask about the employer’s business; the worksite; the number of employees; whether the employer filed the immigration petition in question; whether the foreign national is actually employed by the employer; the foreign national’s position, job duties and salary; and the foreign national’s qualifications for the position, educational background, previous employment and immigration history, residence and dependents in the United States. Typically, the FDNS officer will want to talk to the HR representative and perhaps also the foreign national.

If you are contacted about an upcoming site visit, please contact your immigration attorney immediately. If you receive an unannounced site visit - please contact us as soon as possible afterwards to discuss. In either situation, it is important to cooperate with the CIS representative as far as possible

Links: FDNS fact sheet