Immigration

I-9 update: How to recognize newly redesigned green cards

02/27/2023

The latest I-9 document changes involve green cards, officially known as permanent resident cards. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (part of the Department of Homeland Security) began issuing new, revised green cards on Jan. 30.

Factor workers’ immigration status into layoff decisions

01/24/2023

Fears of a looming recession have some employers making contingency plans for laying off workers. Before you follow suit, think carefully about how you’d bring back employees if the economy rebounds quickly. That’s especially important if you wind up having to lay off employees who are legally working in the United States on immigrant visas that require remaining employed.

Don’t use citizenship as a hiring factor

12/20/2022

Most employers know they can’t take protected characteristics like age or disability into consideration. But some hiring managers may think it’s fine to bypass an applicant with a precarious legal immigration status in favor of a U.S. citizen based on the belief that citizens won’t lose the legal right to work. They are wrong.

Recruiting visa workers? Include a salary range

11/22/2022

When requesting work visas from the federal government, employers know they must justify the move by showing they haven’t found American workers for open positions. But there’s no specific DOL requirement that job postings aimed at foreign recruits include salary ranges. That may mean that bringing those workers here may violate state and local wage transparency laws.

DACA: Final rule finally issued

09/06/2022

Ten years after the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy was first implemented, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has released a final rule codifying how DACA is supposed to work.

Remote I-9 document inspection takes one teeny step toward permanence

08/22/2022

Since the onset of the pandemic, employers have generally been allowed to inspect employees’ Form I-9 documents remotely. ICE would now like to actually write this flexibility into the I-9 regulations. Here’s a preview of what that might look like.

ICE rule could grant I-9 document flexibility

08/18/2022

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is poised to offer employers more flexibility when examining the documents employees present to verify their eligibility to work.

Big changes planned for Form I-9 this fall

04/21/2022

As employers are painfully aware, the Form I-9 is full of hidden traps. And the penalties for mistakes can be harsh. So just as you’ve finally figured out the current I-9 version, the Department of Homeland Security has proposed significant changes to the form before the current version expires on Oct. 31.

Last Friday wrap in March: No more expired List B docs for I-9 purposes, telehealth returns and more

03/25/2022

In which we cover college coaches’ compensation, I-9 forms, telehealth coverage, IRS training and payroll trouble for the foreign service.

I-9 document bias: Lessons from the Gap case

01/20/2022

When completing I-9 forms, HR professionals often focus too much on being “form enforcers” without realizing they could face discrimination charges for demanding that new hires produce certain documents.