Immigration by Torchlight

Charles M. Miller: Napolitano Opens the Worksite Enforcement Pandora’s Box

2009-05-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

Napolitano Opens the Worksite Enforcement Pandora’s Box: The Civil Employer Sanctions System is Broken.By Charles M. MillerThe Obama administration, through Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, has signaled subtle changes to the worksite enforcement efforts of its predecessor. After the Bush administration failed to achieve its goal of comprehensive immigration reform in

TIPS FOR USING THE NEW I-9 APRIL 3, 2009

2009-03-29T14:28:00.001-07:00

Studio City immigration attorney Charles M. Miller, of the Miller Law Offices provides these timely tips for the use of the 2009 edition of the Form I-9 on April 3, 2009. Please remind your I-9 compliance staff that on April 3, 2009 the I-9 2009 edition must be used for new employees and the reverification of employees with expiring employment authorization documents. Just in time for that

Judge Terminates Micro Solutions Employee's Removal Case

2009-02-23T10:46:00.001-08:00

Immigration Judge Terminates Micro Solutions Employee’s Removal Case for ICE Interogation Regulatory Deficiencies On February 10, 2009, Los Angeles Immigration Judge A. Ashley Tabaddor terminated the removal proceedings of one of the Micro Solutions Enterprises employees arrested during a worksite raid. On February 7, 2008, ICE agents entered the Van Nuys toner and ink manufacturing company

2009-02-13T12:04:00.001-08:00

Students Need to Avoid Common Filing Mistakes for Post-Completion OPT F-1 students must take care to carefully manage the post-completion OPT deadlines and rules. This year, as in no other in recent memory, are the economic consequences for missing a deadline so severe. Designated School Officials (DSOs) in international student services offices at colleges and universities across the country

Administration Delays I-9 Rule

2009-02-04T12:40:00.001-08:00

Administration Delays I-9 Rule Use the 2007 I-9 Edition Until April 3, 2009 DHS has published a notice that the CIS is delaying the implementation of the I-9 Interim rule for 60 days or until April 3, 2009. 74 Fed. Reg. 5621(Jan. 30, 2009). DHS is also extending the comment period until March 4, 2009. The Interim rule had been scheduled to have become effective on February 2, 2009.

2009-01-24T14:02:00.001-08:00

Government Contractors E-Verify Rule Implementation Delayed until February 20, 2009 The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council have delayed implementation of the FAR E-Verify final rules until February 20, 2009. 74 Fed. Reg. 1937 (Jan. 14, 2009). President Bush issued an executive order on June 6, 2008, requiring all federal contractors to use the

Obama Can Score Early Immigration, Foreign Policy Victories

2009-01-09T13:45:00.001-08:00

Obama Can Score Early Immigration, Foreign Policy Victories By Charles M. Miller* Deferred action with employment authorization for those persons who qualify for residency can provide a humane, temporary solution The Hispanic voters who helped to carry Barack Obama to electoral success in California, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico are expecting the new administration to propose

January Developments

2009-01-05T13:00:00.001-08:00

DHS Immigration Employment- related Deadlines for the First Quarter of 2009 The first quarter of 2009 has the following DHS immigration employment- related deadlines that employers need to be aware of. January 15, 2009- FAR E-Verify Final Rule’s Effective Date. Federal contractors and certain subcontractors will begin to use the E-Verify verification system for new hires and existing

New I-9 Requires Unexpired Documents After February 2, 2009

2009-01-02T14:40:00.000-08:00

Effective February 2, 2009, the USCIS Interim Rule requires that all documents presented during the I-9 verification process be unexpired [1] with the dual rationale that expired documents were prone to fraud and did not possess current biometric safeguards.[2] A document containing no expiration

BACK TO THE PAST: I-9 FORM RESTORED

2008-07-22T14:23:00.000-07:00

The USCIS posted a new edition for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, dated 6/16/08, to its website. That edition has been recalled. It was later announced that the previous edition of the form dated 6/5/2007 (expiration date June 30, 2009) would be restored to active status.The current I-9 shows that five documents have been removed from List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:

Executive Order Directs Agencies to make E-Verify Mandatory for Government Contractors

2008-07-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

President Bush issued an executive order on June 6, 2008, requiring that Federal Agencies require all federal contractors to use the E-Verify electronic verification system to ensure their workers can legally work in the United States. The effect of the Executive Order is discussed in a USCIS FAQ which is accessed through our Links Page. The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense

Miller Law Offices Bulletin: New Optional Practical Training Rules

2008-05-13T13:47:00.001-07:00

New Optional Practical Training Rules The Optional Practical Training (OPT) program allows F-1 international students who are degree candidates to apply for up to 12 months of employment authorization. Students who have received one year or more of full-time curricular practical training or two years of part-time curricular training are ineligible for post-completion OPT.[1] The student must

17-Month Extension of OPT

2008-04-04T13:49:00.001-07:00

17-Month Extension of Optional Practical Training for Certain Highly Skilled Foreign Students Release Date: April 4, 2008 For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary Contact: 202-282-8010 Optional Practical Training Interim Final Rule (PDF, 48 pages - 2.9 MB) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released today an interim final rule extending the period of Optional Practical

From Bender's Immigration Bulletin: Charles Miller Obtains FOIA CBP IFM

2008-02-18T12:24:00.001-08:00

CBP Inspector's Field Manual on the web AILA member Charles "Chuck" Miller (a former INS attorney) managed to obtain much of the current IFM through a FOIA request. (Ongoing; he is still negotiating with CBP for further releases.) He has posted it to his website, linked here. Large file: 354 pages, almost 2MB, so download may be slow depending on your connection. Fully searchable with Adobe

Hiring foreign professionals? The April 1st H-1B Deadline Approaches

2008-01-26T09:27:00.000-08:00

Hiring foreign professionals? The April 1st H-1B Deadline Approaches Employers use the H-1B visa category to employ nonimmigrant foreign workers who possess the equivalent of a U.S. bachelors degree for professional jobs each year. The first date that H-1B petitions are accepted by the USCIS for employer filing for 2008 employment is April 1st. The competition for the 58,200 H-1B numbers is

From BNA: Myers to Continue Worksite Enforcement in 2008

2008-01-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

ICE PLANS TO CONTINUE TARGETED ENFORCEMENT, ENCOURAGING COMPLIANCE IN 2008, MYERS SAYS12 BNA DAILY LABOR REPORT A-1 January 18, 2008 In 2008, Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to continue targeted worksite enforcement efforts while reaching out to employers to comply with immigration laws, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Julie Myers said at a Jan. 17 American Bar Association

AMENDED I-9

2007-12-27T10:55:00.001-08:00

EMPLOYERS NEED TO USE AMENDED I-9 FOR EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION On November 7, 2007, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an amended version of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9). USCIS recommended that employers begin using the new I-9 Form immediately for all persons hired, and to perform any required reverification of employment authorization for

From Government Executive.com: DHS to revise No-Match Regulation

2007-11-27T11:11:00.001-08:00

Homeland Security to revise Social Security number enforcement planBy Katherine McIntire Peters kpeters@govexec.com November 26, 2007 The Homeland Security Department will revise a rule requiring employers to reconcile employee Social Security numbers that don't match existing records in government databases, according to

Employers Need to Use Amended I-9 for Employment Verification

2007-11-11T09:37:00.001-08:00

On November 7, 2007, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an amended version of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9). The USCIS recommends that employers begin using the new I-9 Form immediately for all persons hired on or after 11/7/2007, and to perform any required reverification of employment authorization for current employees or for rehired

CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE : DREAM Act Blocked

2007-10-24T11:19:00.001-07:00

CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE Oct. 24, 2007 – 1:37 p.m. Senate Blocks Bill to Aid Children of Illegal Immigrants The Senate on Wednesday blocked the latest effort to address the thorny immigration issue, refusing to call up legislation that would allow some children of illegal immigrants to legalize their status in the United States. Bill supporters needed 60

NILC: No Match TRO extended 10 days

2007-10-02T10:59:00.001-07:00

Court Extends Order That Blocks Government from Implementing Flawed Social Security "No-Match" Rule SAN FRANCISCO | After a hearing today, a federal judge extended for 10 days an order that temporarily stops the government from implementing a new Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that would cause U.S. citizens and other authorized workers to lose their jobs, and which would illegally

Wall Street Journal: No Match District Court Hearing in SF

2007-10-01T10:15:00.001-07:00

Firms Brace for Crackdown on Illegal Labor By MIRIAM JORDANOctober 1, 2007; Page A3 As a crucial hearing looms on a planned government crackdown on illegal immigrants in the workplace, many businesses are scrambling to figure out how they will cope with an expected loss of illegal labor. A U.S. district court in San Francisco could decide as early as today whether the Social Security

DHS: October 1st Passport Required for Canada, Mexico, Carribean or Bermuda Trips

2007-09-13T10:12:00.001-07:00

DHS Reminds Carriers and Traveling Public About the End of the Temporary WHTI Accommodation September 4, 2007 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reminding air carriers and the traveling public that the temporary Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) accommodation allowing U.S. citizens to travel by air within the Western Hemisphere using a Department of State (DOS)

Washington Post: No-Match Lawsuit Seeks to Block No-Match Regulation

2007-08-31T12:44:00.001-07:00

Planned Crackdown on Immigrants Denounced By Spencer S. HsuWashington Post Staff WriterThursday, August 30, 2007; A04 The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO this week separately assailed a new White House-backed crackdown on illegal immigration, warning of massive disruptions to the economy and headaches for U.S. citizens if the proposal goes ahead as planned in the coming days. The

AILA President Kathleen Walker on Administration Enforcement Plan

2007-08-10T17:15:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON, DC - "Stepping into the vacuum created by Congress' inability to enact workable comprehensive immigration reform, the Administration ramped up its enforcement arsenal today, leaving many employers between a rock and hard place," stated Kathleen Campbell Walker, President of The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). "The real solution, recognized by the Administration,