Coalition of Labor Unions Join Business Community in Supporting Immigration Reform

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Robert Cohen

Last week, the Obama Administration reiterated its commitment to enact comprehensive immigration reform during the first year of the new administration. On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that a coalition of unions have agreed to support the Administration’s initiative, joining the business community and the Chamber of Commerce, who have long supported immigration reform. Of course, with immigration reform, as with other contentious legislation, the devil is in the details, and different advocates define immigration reform differently. 

The Unions, Chamber of Commerce and the Administration agree that key elements of reform will include a reduction in the excessive backlogs for permanent resident status in both the employment and family based application tracts. There also appears to be an agreement coalescing among the interested stakeholders that will include a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the country. 

Labor and the business community disagree, however, on the role of temporary workers, often called guest workers, in the immigration reform package. The business community views temporary professional personnel with H-1B and L-1 visas as a necessary source of talent for technology, engineering, research and development. Many of the individuals shut out of the United States by the limitation of temporary visas are highly skilled graduates of the American universities in engineering, business, science, technology and math.   Business also sees the guest worker programs known as H-2A (agricultural) and H-2B (non-agricultural) visas as filling a need in shortage occupations where American workers are not available. The temporary visas are opposed by labor, who see foreign workers as competition for scarce jobs in a recessionary economy. The political battle lines will likely be fought on the question of whether temporary workers are viewed as necessary fuel for economic growth, or whether the pool of jobs in America is seen as a zero sum game, and need to be protected for the unemployed American worker. 

There has been widespread agreement over the past several years that the immigration system is badly broken and in need of repair. The formula for repair remains a contentious and emotional issue in American politics. However, the agreement of key elements of immigration reform by the Administration, labor and management suggest that it is possible to enact some form of reform in the near term. The one certain observation in the world of immigration reform is that the next year will be interesting. For those interested, the Immigration Policy Center regularly publishes interesting policy analysis on the economics and politics of the immigration debate.  
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Employers Required to Use New I-9 Form As of Today - April 3, 2009

Posted on April 3, 2009 by Robert Cohen

After a two-month delay for the Obama Administration to review the new form and related policies, today (April 3, 2009) marks the introduction of the yet another version of the I-9 form. Employers are required to use the new form to verify the employment eligibility of all newly hired individuals on or after today's date  - April 3, 2009. 

There are two changes from the previous editions of the form. First, the last page of the form, which identifies acceptable documents, has some modified language and adds additional documents that can be accepted to verify employment eligibility in both List A (documents that establish both identity and employment eligibility) and List C (documents that establish employment eligibility). Employers may now accept a passport from the Federated States of Micronesia or the Republic of the Marshall Islands with an I-94A admission document as proof of both identity and employment authorization. This modification is based upon a recent compact between these two territories and the United States. The second modification requires the new employee to identify their status as a citizen, permanent resident, national of the United States, or an alien temporarily authorized to work. Prior versions of the form included citizen or national with the same check mark, but the new form differentiates between the two classifications. Neither of these changes will impact many individuals, but the new form is nevertheless required for all newly hired employees beginning on April 3, 2009. 

 

The new form is available at this link on the USCIS web site.

 

A new version of the employer’s I-9 Handbook is also available on the USCIS web site.

 

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USCIS to Start Mailing Rejection Notices for April 1, 2008 H-1B Filings

Posted on June 12, 2008 by Kyle Knapp

On June 12, 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) informed the American Immigration Lawyers Association that the H-1B random selection process has been completed. USCIS completed the intake and receipt processes for all filings as of May 24, 2008 and began mailing rejection notices the week of June 9. Therefore, if an employer has not yet received a filing confirmation (Form I-797C Notice of Action), it likely means that the petition was not selected in the random process and that the rejection notice will be forthcoming.

Individuals whose petitions were rejected still may have some planning options available to remain in the United States and/or continue working. For F-1 students with “STEM” degrees (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), if they are or will be employed by an employer that participates in the “E-Verify” employment eligibility verification system, they can request an additional 17 months of Optional Practical Training work authorization. Whether an employer wishes to participate in E-Verify requires careful consideration, as there are pros and cons depending upon the size and nature of the employer's workforce.

Other planning options for individuals may include pursuing or continuing graduate studies, converting to a dependent immigration status (such as F-2 or H-4) if there is a qualifying spouse, or pursuing TN work authorization for eligible Canadian or Mexican citizens.

If there is no other viable current option, there still remains the opportunity to file another H-1B April 1, 2009 for the next fiscal year (October 1, 2009 – September 30, 2010). In the meantime, employers that have been negatively impacted by the limited number of H-1B visas may wish to contact their congressional representatives to encourage increasing the quota as part of meaningful immigration reform.
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