NEWS

BALCA Decisions on PERM Labor Certification Applications

Recently, BALCA has decided a number of cases clarifying regulations surrounding the PERM labor certification application.  Such case law is helpful in providing clear instructions to the otherwise general guidelines provided in the Code of Federal Regulations, the latter of which has created guesswork for immigration attorneys and employers attempting to comply with the plethora READ MORE

DHS Announces Greece as Member of Visa Waiver Program

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today that Greece is now a member of the Visa Waiver Program.  The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) was established as a pilot program in 1986 to eliminate unnecessary barriers to travel to the US.  In October 2000 it became a permanent feature of US immigration law and READ MORE

DHS Rescinds Safe-Harbor Procedures for No-Match Letters

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed to amend its regulations by rescinding its safe-harbor procedures for employers who receive a no-match letter, which were originally promulgated on August 15, 2007, and October 28, 2008.  According to the proposed rule in Federal Register: August 19, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 159)][Page 41801-41805]:  “Implementation of the 2007 READ MORE

USCIS Revises Form I-9

On December 12, 2008, USCIS announced that it had submitted interim final rules to the Federal Register to streamline Form I-9.  USCIS’s announcement states that the rule narrows the list of acceptable identity documents and excludes expired documents as acceptable forms of identification. USCIS’s reasoning is that a broader “document list makes it more difficult for READ MORE

Federal Contractors Must Use E-Verify

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has designated the free, online employment eligibility verification system, E-Verify, as the electronic employment eligibility verification system that all federal contractors must use, as required by Executive Order 12989. In particular, Executive Order 12989 directs all federal departments and agencies to require contractors, as a condition of each future federal READ MORE

Mandatory E-Verify is Blasted as Overburdening SSA

Today, the US House heard testimony on legislation to require all employers to participate in E-Verify, the federal electronic employment verification system that allows an employer to verify an employee’s work authorization online.  The system is notorious for its many flaws and today representatives and witnesses voiced concern that the law would overtax the Social Security Administration (SSA) READ MORE

Coalition Opposes SSA No-Match Rules

The Low Wage Immigrant Worker Coalition (LWIW) has filed the following comments in the Federal Register in opposition to the recently published Social Security no-match rule published by US DHS: “The LWIW Coalition opposes the implementation of the DHS rule on the following grounds: the rule does not address the serious issues that were raised READ MORE