USCIS Releases New Form I-9 Widget
On September 22, 2014, E-Verify released a new Form I-9 Desktop Widget that gives all employers a shortcut to automatically launch the Form I-9 at anytime, from their desktop. With one click on the Form I-9 Widget, it is now easier for employers to access and complete the Form I-9.
The I-9 Widget webpages invites visitors to download the widget to streamline their on-boarding process by clicking one button. You will see easy to follow instructions to download, install and set-up the Form I-9 Widget for use and click on the E-Verify and Free Webinar to learn how to strengthen your on-boarding process.
On July 31, American Farm Bureau and Partnership for a New American Economy jointly released a 30 second agricultural immigration ad.
The ad features Texas Farm Bureau member Bernie Thiel who has had to destroy a portion of his squash crop because he has been unable to find the workers he needs to harvest. This ad highlights the real impact of Congressional inaction. The ad will be premiered today in Washington D.C. taxis and airports, will play in the following locations:
- Washington D.C. taxicabs
- Reagan National and Dulles International airports
- Movie theatre trailers in 16 key congressional districts
- Rodeos in Idaho and Louisiana
- State Fairs
Immigration & Customs Enforcement Releases
Form I-9 Video Tutorials by USCIS
USCIS just released three short video vignettes for employees and employers that demonstrate how to complete the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9. Watch the new Form I-9 videos and learn how to complete Sections 1, 2, and 3. Each vignette walks the viewer through the key steps in four minutes or less.
Top 5 Common I-9 Errors As Seen Through the Eyes of OCAHO
Bruce Buchanan
Today’s article is authored by Bruce Buchanan, Attorney at Siskind Susser, PC in Nashville, Tennessee.
In reviewing the numerous OCAHO decisions issued so far this year, there have been some fairly common violations that have gotten employers in a lot of trouble. Here’s my detailed take on what some of those common errors are and why they consistently plague employers.
Little-Known Immigration Mandate Keeps Detention Beds Full
Imagine your city council telling the police department how many people it had to keep in jail each night.
That's effectively what Congress has told U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with a policy known as the "detention bed mandate." The mandate calls for filling 34,000 beds in some 250 facilities across the country, per day, with immigrant detainees.
Form I-9 Inspection Overview
On November 6, 1986, the enactment of the Immigration Reform and Control Act required employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of their employees and created criminal and civil sanctions for employment related violations. Section 274A (b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), codified in 8 U.S.C. § 1324a (b), requires employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all individuals hired in the United States after November 6, 1986. 8 C.F.R. § 274a.2 designates the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 (Form I-9) as the means of documenting this verification. Employers are required by law to maintain for inspection original Forms I-9 for all current employees. In the case of former employees, retention of Forms I-9 are required for a period of at least three years from the date of hire or for one year after the employee is no longer employed, whichever is longer.
Feinstein Wants ICE to Stop Farm Audits
Stacy Finz, San Francisco Chronicle staff writer
Updated 9:38 am, Friday, September 6, 2013
At the height of California's harvest, during a critical farm labor shortage, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has asked immigration officials to stop cracking down on undocumented field workers, saying she is concerned that it could lead to financial losses and higher food prices. Feinstein, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged Immigration and Customs Enforcement to focus its prosecutions on violent criminals instead of agricultural employers and their workers. She has asked the agency to discontinue its I-9 farm audits, a verification process that assures that an employee has authorization to work in the United States.
USCIS Reminds Employers to Begin Using Revised Form I-9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds employers that beginning today they must use the revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification (Revision 03/08/13) N for all new hires and reverifications. All employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for each employee hired to work in the United States.
Click here for USCIS News Release. Hear are some resources:
- USCIS Form I-9 Blog
- Employers Handbook - Publication M-274
- FREE Form I-9 webinar
- I-9 Central click here.
Article by John Fay
On Thursday, August 23, 2012, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new (and mostly improved) Form I-9 for public comment. If this announcement sounds eerily familiar, that’s because this is actually the second round of revisions for America’s most complicated one-page (now turned two-page) form. Earlier this year, the USCIS released a first draft of the proposed Form I-9, which resulted in an astounding number of comments (6,200+) from employers and others interested in employment eligibility verification (and who isn’t these days!) Based on those comments, the USCIS has now made several substantive (and design) changes to both the proposed Form I-9 and the Instructions, which I describe below in detail.
Notations on Form I-9 OK - According to USCIS
During a Form I-9 workshop held at a conference in February 2013, attendees were told that there should be no superfluous information added to the Form I-9 not requested on the form itself, such as employee ID numbers and such.
A FELS Subscriber called FELS to verify this statement since it is their procedure to write the employee's name and employee ID number at the top of the completed Form I-9 for filing purposes.
FELS was able to track down the offical policy of USCIS regarding this issue. According to USCIS:
"As you and I discussed, the training and information that our office provides to the public/employers is that employers must ensure that the information on stored Forms I-9 is legible. Any additional writing printed on Form I-9 outside of the required information must not interfere with an authorized government official’s ability to read the information on the form but is not disallowed. In addition, when completing the form highlighting marks, hole punches and staples in the form are acceptable as long as they do not interfere with an authorized official’s ability to read the information on the form.
The link to the I-9 Central Q&A that addresses the “writing outside of the required information” is below. See the 2nd question in the list of Q&A at this link. If employers you work with are concerned about the disallowance of this practice they may be encouraged to print this portion of the Q&A from the website (which would provide the link & date on the printing) and save it with their personnel policy manual."
I-9 Central Q&A Link click here
Northern California olive producers are reporting shortages of workers that are hampering their harvest.
Thursday's edition of the Capitol Press carried the story. "Guys are jumping from one crew to the next crew thinking they're getting a better deal, then you lose a crew for a while and then they come back because they realize it's just as good as where they were," said Scott Patton, a Corning area olive producer. "People are walking off saying they won't pick unless they get so much. Farmers are paying a lot more per ton for picking."
You can read more here.