Immigration Law For Employers

If you personal your individual enterprise or otherwise have staff, you are, beneath federal law, an agent for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (previously the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). In an effort to reduce the hiring of undocumented immigrants, Congress created the I-9 verification process, which requires employers to verify the employment eligibility of workers. DHS investigators use these I-9 varieties to discover out whether or not employers are hiring undocumented staff.

I-9 forms are actually a optimistic thing for employers, because I-9 varieties provide employers with a "good religion" protection if the employer hires a employee who is definitely working illegally in the United States.

https://www.usimmigrationinuk.co.uk/getting-into-america-with-a-police-caution/ can obtain I-9 types from the DHS (800-870-3676), or download them from the agency's Web site. You also can write to the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

DHS can begin an investigation about a company using unlawful workers at any time. An employer could be fined and sanctioned for hiring an undocumented worker. The normal in judging the wrongfulness of the employer's conduct is whether or not a reasonable particular person would consider the worker was illegally employed.

Every employer should complete I-9 types, even when the employer has only one worker. Hiring impartial contractors doesn't trigger the requirement to complete an I-9 kind.

If you, as an employer, receive information and paperwork that, on their face, seem legitimate and consistent, you don't need to investigate further. However, should you receive obvious forgeries, data that does not match the worker, or different knowledge that makes you assume you need to ask more questions, then you need to continue your inquiry as to the employee's immigration standing.

A good business follow is to conduct your self an audit or rent an immigration lawyer to audit your I-9's and supporting documents to be sure they comply with the legislation. Here are some do's and don'ts when going by way of the I-9 verification course of:

During an worker's first day, give the employee a list of paperwork that can be utilized to confirm status. Determine if the worker already has employment authorization. Ask questions about identify adjustments. Make sure paperwork supplied by the worker are on the lists of acceptable paperwork. A good immigration lawyer may help you with these lists. Review documents for authenticity. Are there apparent indicators of tampering or forgery? Reject documents if they're clearly fakes. If a doc seems valid on its face and is listed as a qualified doc on the I-9, accept the doc. Retain I-9's for 3 years, or one 12 months after employment ends, whichever is longer. I-9 varieties may be inspected by DHS on three days' notice, with out even a warrant or subpoena.

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Pub: 28 Jul 2023 11:20 UTC
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