Sunday, February 07, 2010
USCIS tracking E-Verify participant data
2009 was a year of significant government initiatives in the area of immigration compliance: a new I-9 form was released limiting the types of qualifying documents; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiated numerous I-9 audits by issuing Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to over 1,650 employers across the country; the Social Security No-Match regulation was abandoned; United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Office of Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) initiated thousands of H-1B employer site visits; and E-Verify was made mandatory for numerous federal contractors via a new regulation made effective on September 8, 2009.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
House OKs Three-Year Extension of E-Verify Program
With action on comprehensive immigration reform pushed off to next year, the House approved a homeland security funding bill on Thursday, October 15, that would renew a government-run electronic employment verification system.
A provision to extend the mechanism, known as E-Verify, for three years was included in a $42.8 billion appropriations measure the House approved, 307-114, that would fund the Department of Homeland Security for the next fiscal year.
The bill was a product of House-Senate negotiations and is expected to be approved by the Senate.
It allocates $137 million to improve E-Verify’s accuracy and compliance rates and $135 million for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hire special agents for workplace immigration audits.
During bicameral talks last week, Senate amendments that would have permanently authorized E-Verify and would have codified a regulation that makes E-Verify mandatory for federal contractors were dropped.
The decisions cool for now a simmering debate over the effectiveness of E-Verify.
“There’s no consensus on making it permanent, and no interest in tackling this as a stand-alone issue with the prospect of a more wide-ranging debate on comprehensive immigration reform looming in the future,” says Eric Bord, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Washington.
The mechanism, which checks employee information from I-9 forms against Social Security and homeland security databases, is used voluntarily by more than 148,000 employers.
Groups such as the Society for Human Resource Management have criticized the system for being inefficient, ineffective and unable to detect identity theft. They say that mistakes in government records could cause hundreds of thousands of legal workers to be declared ineligible.
A provision to extend the mechanism, known as E-Verify, for three years was included in a $42.8 billion appropriations measure the House approved, 307-114, that would fund the Department of Homeland Security for the next fiscal year.
The bill was a product of House-Senate negotiations and is expected to be approved by the Senate.
It allocates $137 million to improve E-Verify’s accuracy and compliance rates and $135 million for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hire special agents for workplace immigration audits.
During bicameral talks last week, Senate amendments that would have permanently authorized E-Verify and would have codified a regulation that makes E-Verify mandatory for federal contractors were dropped.
The decisions cool for now a simmering debate over the effectiveness of E-Verify.
“There’s no consensus on making it permanent, and no interest in tackling this as a stand-alone issue with the prospect of a more wide-ranging debate on comprehensive immigration reform looming in the future,” says Eric Bord, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Washington.
The mechanism, which checks employee information from I-9 forms against Social Security and homeland security databases, is used voluntarily by more than 148,000 employers.
Groups such as the Society for Human Resource Management have criticized the system for being inefficient, ineffective and unable to detect identity theft. They say that mistakes in government records could cause hundreds of thousands of legal workers to be declared ineligible.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Feds to start immigration crackdown on contractors
WASHINGTON — For federal contractors, it's time to start checking whether employees are able to legally work in the United States.
Beginning Tuesday, the federal government is requiring federal contractors to use the E-Verify system to check the immigration and citizenship status of the people they hire and assign to new federal contracts.
...
Contractors have 30 days from the date a contract is awarded to enroll in E-Verify, and 90 days to start submitting information on new hires and certain current workers. Contractors have the option of checking their entire work force, once they notify the government of their intent to do so. They also will be responsible for requiring subcontractors to use E-Verify.
Beginning Tuesday, the federal government is requiring federal contractors to use the E-Verify system to check the immigration and citizenship status of the people they hire and assign to new federal contracts.
...
Contractors have 30 days from the date a contract is awarded to enroll in E-Verify, and 90 days to start submitting information on new hires and certain current workers. Contractors have the option of checking their entire work force, once they notify the government of their intent to do so. They also will be responsible for requiring subcontractors to use E-Verify.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
U.S. Intensifies Audits of Employers
John Morton, the new chief of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, said that the agency is set to increase the number of companies it will audit and systematically impose fines on violators. Violations could also lead to criminal charges, he said.
E-Verify Verges On Expansion While Congress Weighs Immigration Reform
Used voluntarily by more than 137,000 employers, E-Verify checks new-hire information against Social Security and DHS databases. DHS announced in July that it would implement on September 8 a regulation compelling federal contractors to use E-Verify.
E-Verify Verges On Expansion While Congress Weighs Immigration Reform
Used voluntarily by more than 137,000 employers, E-Verify checks new-hire information against Social Security and DHS databases. DHS announced in July that it would implement on September 8 a regulation compelling federal contractors to use E-Verify.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
If Immigration Audits Your Employees' Legal Status
The U.S. Homeland Security Dept. under the Obama Administration has continued a Bush-era policy of focusing on employers when enforcing immigration laws. Hiring records, even for small and medium-size businesses, are coming under additional scrutiny, and fines are being levied for violations.
Monday, August 10, 2009
E-Verify Under Fire
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced that it will rescind a rule outlining actions employers should take when they receive a “no-match” letter from Social Security Administration indicating possible illegal employment… DHS indicated that it still intends to pursue more recently proposed rules that would require federal contractors to enroll in the government’s E-Verify system and check the work authorization of all new hires and all employees assigned to a federal contract.
SHRM Urges Virginia Assembly to Reject E-Verify Employer Mandate
In testimony today on behalf of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), former Congressman Bruce A. Morrison urged the Virginia Small Business Commission to reject proposals to mandate the use of E-Verify by Virginia employers.
SHRM Urges Virginia Assembly to Reject E-Verify Employer Mandate
In testimony today on behalf of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), former Congressman Bruce A. Morrison urged the Virginia Small Business Commission to reject proposals to mandate the use of E-Verify by Virginia employers.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Immigration Compliance Complexities
The Department of Homeland Security made some moves in July that reflect a continued shift toward investigating employer -- not illegal-immigrant -- violations. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced hundreds of planned company audits and continues to make efforts to enhance the E-Verify system.
By Anne Freedman, HR Executive Online
Never an easy problem to begin with, immigration compliance continues to be ever more complex and difficult.
Just this month, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would rescind its No-Match rule, which required the Social Security Administration to notify employers when employee Social Security numbers do not match data in the SSA database.
The rule, which actually never went into effect after the filing of a lawsuit challenging it, required employers to act to correct any discrepancies with the SSA information.
Within days of that decision, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of DHS, also revealed it planned to audit more than 600 employers to ensure compliance with hiring laws.
And, about the same time, DHS announced it would require the use of E-Verify screening for all federal contractors and recipients of bailout funds by Sept. 8. That's another initiative that had been long-delayed by a lawsuit.
Read more
By Anne Freedman, HR Executive Online
Never an easy problem to begin with, immigration compliance continues to be ever more complex and difficult.
Just this month, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would rescind its No-Match rule, which required the Social Security Administration to notify employers when employee Social Security numbers do not match data in the SSA database.
The rule, which actually never went into effect after the filing of a lawsuit challenging it, required employers to act to correct any discrepancies with the SSA information.
Within days of that decision, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of DHS, also revealed it planned to audit more than 600 employers to ensure compliance with hiring laws.
And, about the same time, DHS announced it would require the use of E-Verify screening for all federal contractors and recipients of bailout funds by Sept. 8. That's another initiative that had been long-delayed by a lawsuit.
Read more
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