Employers Immigration Guide

This page is an immigration guide for employers, particularly for those who sponsor foreign-born workers for immigration benefits.

We discuss the process of obtaining temporary working visas and converting these to permanent residence. Our law firm represents over 100 corporate clients in various states.

We guide employers in successfully processing visa petitions through the USCIS and in obtaining the approval of PERM applications through the U.S. Department of Labor. We assist both employers and employers in the green card process.

We also advise employers how to comply with the Employee Verification (“I-9″) System, how to respond to “mismatch” letters received from the Social Security Administration, and how to avoid liability under anti-discrimination and “document abuse” laws. We discuss the government’s “E-Verify” program in which our law firm and some of our corporate clients participate.

“I work with Merritt Hawkins & Associates, the largest physician search and consulting firm in the United States. For the past 20 years, we have relied on Mr. Shusterman and his law office to assist us in cases where we have recruited international physicians on behalf of our clients…we have found the results that Mr. Shusterman and his firm have achieved for us to be uniformly excellent..” (More client reviews…)

Related Page:

Can Your Company Survive an I-9 Audit? – Recruiting Trends

Our Employers Immigration Guide is divided into the following subtopics:

• Success Stories
• Obtaining Temporary Working Status for Employees
• Obtaining Permanent Residence for Employees
• Hiring Recent University Graduates
• Premium Processing Program
• How to Avoid Employer Sanctions (I-9′s)
• Social Security Numbers and “No-Match” Letters
• Anti-Discrimination and Document Abuse
• E-Verify Program
• Employer Information from the Government
• Department of Labor Immigration Resources
• Bilateral Social Security Agreements

SUCCESS STORIES

• Showing a Valid Employer-Employee Relationship (August 2010)
• Using E-Verify to Help a Corporate Client (October 2008)
• Employment-Based Immigration: Secrets for Success (September 2004)

OBTAINING TEMPORARY WORKING STATUS FOR EMPLOYEES

• Visitors for Business (“B-1″) or Pleasure (“B-2″)
• Treaty Traders (“E-1″)
• Treaty Investors (“E-2″)
• Professional Employees (“H-1B”)
• Exchange Visitors (“J-1″)
• Intracompany Transferees (“L-1″)
• The “Dual Intent” Doctrine
• Persons of Extraordinary Ability (“O”)
• Athletes and Entertainers (“P”)
• International Cultural Exchange Visitors (“Q”)
• Religious Workers (“R”)

OBTAINING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR EMPLOYEES

• Green Cards Through Employment: PERM
• Green Cards Through Employment: An Overview
• Obtaining Wage Data from the Federal Government
• The Foreign Labor Certification Process
• National Interest Waivers
• Persons of Extraordinary Ability
• Outstanding Professors and Researchers
• Multinational Executives and Managers
• Persons of Exceptional Ability

HOW TO AVOID EMPLOYER SANCTIONS

Federal law requires that all employers verify the identity and employment eligibility of all new employees including U.S. citizens within three days of hire. Employers are required to complete a Form I-9, and each employee must provide their employer with documentation establishing both their identity and their eligibility to work in the United States. Failure to follow these rules may result in civil and/or criminal sanctions against offending employers.

• USCIS I-9 Handbook for Employers – 69 Pages (Effective 6-01-11)
• I-9 Central (USCIS)
• Videos: Employers – How to Survive an I-9 Audit
• INC v. INS – Avoiding Employer Sanctions
• U.S.A. v. Ketchikan Drywall Services, Inc. – OCAHO (8-11-11)
• New ICE Audits Target 1,000 Firms (6-16-11)
• U.S. Supreme Court Upholds State Law Mandating E-Verify for Employers (5-26-11)
• USCIS Regulations: Documents Acceptable for Employment Eligibility Verification (4-15-11)
• USCIS Issues Final Rule on Employment Eligibility Verification: Questions and Answers (4-14-11)
• I-9 Regulation re: Electronic Signtures (7-22-10) – ICE
• ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton Announces 1,000 New Workplace Audits (11-19-09)
• I-9 Audits: 7 Tips for Employers (7-06-09)
• I-9 Audits: Catch-22 for Employers (7-01-09)
• More than 650 U.S. Businesses to Have Employee Work Files Audited – Los Angeles Times (7-01-09)
• 652 businesses Nationwide Served with Audit Notices Today – ICE (7-01-09)
• USCIS Issues Guidance on Employment Eligibility Verification Form (6-26-09)
• EOIR Regulation Imposing Higher Civil Fines Against Employers for Immigration Violations (2-26-08)
• How Do I Complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification? (USCIS)
• Download Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification)

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS AND “NO-MATCH” LETTERS

• Social Security Online: Immigration Information (English)
• Social Security Online: Immigration Information (Spanish)
• Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS)
• INS General Counsel on Responding to a Social Security Administration No-Match Letter (4-12-99)
• INS General Counsel on Responding to a Social Security Administration No-Match Letter (12-23-97)

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION/DOCUMENT ABUSE

Office of Special Counsel (OSC)

• Office of Special Counsel, Department of Justice (Enforces Anti-Discrimination and Document Abuse Laws)
  • Look at the Facts, Not the Faces – Your Guide to Fair Employment – “Office of Special Counsel, Department of Justice”
  • Employer Best Practices During Worksite Enforcement Audits
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
  • Types of Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices Discrimination

Anti-Discrimination

• IRCA’s Anti-Discrimination Provision – How It Works

Document Abuse

• Avoiding Document Abuse
• Document Abuse: The “Before” Letter
• Document Abuse: The “After” Letter

E-VERIFY PROGRAM

E-Verify is an Internet database operated by the Department of Homeland Security which allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees, regardless of whether they are U.S. citizens or foreign nationals. Most federal contractors and companies located in certain states are required to participate in the E-Verify program.

• E-Verify Page (USCIS)
  • E-Verify Self-Check (USCIS)
  • E-Verify: How to Create a Case (USCIS)
  • E-Verify: Employer Rights and Responsibilities (USCIS)
  • E-Verify: How to Respond to a Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC) Result (USCIS)
  • E-Verify: Employee Rights and Responsibilities (USCIS)
  • E-Verify: Derechos y Responsibilidades del Empleado (USCIS)
  • E-Verify User Manual (USCIS) – Updated May 2011
  • USCIS Announces Expansion of E-Verify Self Check (2-9-12)
  • The Basics of E-Verify, the US Employer Verification System – Migration Policy Institute (July 2011)
  • E-Verify Redesign (6-13-10)
  • Findings of the E-Verify Program Evaluation (December 2009)
  • Federal Contractors Required to Use E-Verify Beginning September 8, 2009 (USCIS)
  • E-Verify Employer DOs and DON’Ts — (Justice Department) (Revised 3-10-09)
  • Final Rule Requring Mandatory E-Verify Use for Government Contractors (6-05-09)
  • Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (H.R. 2638) – (Signed by President on 9/30/08)
  • How Do I Use E-Verify? (USCIS)
  • Employees — You Should Know Your Rights and Responsibilities Under E-Verify

EMPLOYER INFORMATION FROM THE GOVERNMENT

• “How Do I?” Guides for Employers (USCIS)
• NAICS Look-Up
• Fact Sheet: USCIS Notifies Employers of Filing Changes (3-24-06)
• Business Visa Center (State Department)
• Business Visa Center: Frequently Asked Questions (State Department)