H-1B Visa 2015 Webinar Series: H-1B Visa was Granted, Now What? Staying out of Trouble – How to Ensure that H-1B Employers Comply with Federal Immigration Law and Regulations
Can you name the distinct federal agencies that enforce and regulate work-related immigration policies in the United States? These agencies have recently stepped up their efforts to strictly regulate H-1B employers. H-1B employers must fully comply with the myriad of employment-related immigration laws, or they could face civil/criminal liability or even debarment from H-1B employment. How does your business prioritize immigration compliance? Do you have an effective H-1B compliance program set up in your corporation?
In 2004, USCIS and the Office of Fraud Detention and National Security (FDNS) initiated an aggressive stance against fraud in H-1B petitions. Investigators currently perform unannounced site visits to H-1B employers to verify that H-1B employers and foreign national employees both are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the visa. This broadly includes checking the identities of the H-1B employer and foreign national employee (Form I-9) at the work-site, and that the H-1B employer is paying the foreign national the designated prevailing wage.
The Department of Labor and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division (ICE) have also been aggressively conducting I-9 audit investigations to expose non-compliant H-1B employers, especially those suspected of hiring unauthorized immigrants. ICE is currently in the process of issuing a new round of audits to hundreds of H-1B employers. As part of the audit, H-1B employers are asked to produce their original I-9 forms, Labor Condition Application (LCA) postings, and Public Access Files (PAF) /supporting documentation.
To help you better understand H-1B immigration compliance and enforcement issues, Carr Maloney PC is pleased to announce that it will be offering its FREE H-1B Immigration Compliance & Enforcement webinar on Wednesday, April 1, 2015, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. EST. The webinar will be led by Tina Maiolo, Esq., an experienced business immigration attorney and designated referral counsel to the Embassy of Italy in the United States.
The H-1B Immigration Compliance & Enforcement webinar will also offer general insider tips and guidance to H-1B employers on how to set up an effective internal compliance program, and how to successfully prevent and/or maneuver an investigation or audit. Since work-related compliance and enforcement law can be quite complicated, it is vital that an H-1B employer seek legal counsel to ensure it is compliant with all applicable immigration law, and to have effective representation should the employer face an investigation. I hope that you are able to join us for our discussion of H-1B Immigration Compliance & Enforcement!
To register for the webinar, please click here.