Houston DWI Attorney Paul B. Kennedy

for the past few months, the u. S. Section of homeland security, citizenship and immigration services (”cis”) has conducted an investigation program purposed at visiting h-1b petitioner worksites all around the u. S. These internet-location visits started out as portion of the cis’ goal to decrease the number of h-1b violations and instances of fraud reported by the h-1b gain fraud & compliance assessment from cis’ office of fraud detection and national security (”fdns”), published this past september. As stated by the fdns’ findings, as many as one in five h-1b apps were affected by either fraud or “technical violations” of the h-1b program.

why should employers care? Any employer who sponsored a alien national worker for an h-1b visa may be subject to an unannounced internet-location visit. What this means is that an investigator may randomly show up at a worksite and demand to see a copy of the h-1b petition, consultation the person who represented the company in connection with the h-1b in addition as the h-1b employee or other laborers presently on internet-location. Any inconsistencies found may mean large disturb for employers.

fdns has indicated that it doesn’t does unquestionably require a subpoena in order to finish the internet-location visit because uscis regulations governing the filing of immigration petitions allow the government to take testimony and behavior wide investigations relating to the petitions. However other roots say that employers are not anticipated to give in to the investigators’ demands without a subpoena. What to do? Our office recommends that you always comply as much as possible with any investigative agency that shows up at your door. Cis has indicated that attorneys may be present during an inspection, but the investigator is not likely going to return another day whether or not the attorney is not available on the day of the unscheduled visit. Attorneys may be present by way of telephone in these circumstances.

some common questions that have been raised by employers include: “how are companies chosen to be investigated,” “if i am visited, should i be concerned,” “what type of violations are the investigators searching for,” and “how may i prepare for a internet-location visit from a cis/fdns investigator? ” to address these issues in order, firstly any employer who has filed an h-1b petition may be subject to a internet-location visit. While cis claims the employers are chosen at random, close to 40,000 employers’ names have been chosen for internet-location visits. Many constituents that may have been taken into thoughtfulness when selecting these 40,000 employers include: companies with fewer than 15 laborers; companies with fewer than $10 million in sales; companies fewer than 10 years old; accounting, hr, business analyst, sales and advertising positions; and petitions where the beneficiary merely had a bachelor’s degree, not an innovative degree.

if your company is visited and your records are in order, you have not one thing to have a feeling of regarding. Generally speaking employers are conscious of inconsistencies before any investigative agency may catch wind of it. That being said, whether or not the investigators uncover any inconsistencies or instances of fraud, the case may be denoted to u. S. Immigration and customs enforcement (ice), or the section of labor (dol) for further investigation depending on the offense. This could mean there are going to be monetary, and whether or not egregious offenses, possible criminal penalties for the employer.

the goal to be attained of the unannounced on-internet-location visits is clear: to observe fraud and abuses of the visa program. As stated by uscis, the offenses range from technological violations to outright fraud, with the most common violation being the non- payment of a prevailing wage to the h-1b beneficiary. More quintessentially, the investigators may be searching for the following types of violations: occupation emplacement not listed on the h-1b petition and/or lca; h-1b worker not receiving the required wage; fraudulent h-1b documents or h-1b worker credentials; non-existent business or office emplacement; occupation duties significantly different from those listed on h-1b petition/lca; misrepresentation of h-1b status by the h-1b worker (e. G. , had been terminated from previous h-1b position prior to new employer h-1b being filed); and h-1b worker remunerated the $1500 acwia fee.

how may you prepare yourself and your company for a potential internet-location visit? Step one is to ensure that you have public access files (paf) for each h-1b worker, and that the paf documents are accurate and up to date. Generally, it is a good idea to review and audit your h-1b/lca records to ensure everything is in order and all info is readily available. Designate a specific person at each h-1b worker emplacement to meet the investigator should he/she arrive. Prepare a quick list of facts regarding the company and likewise a listing of h-1b laborers, work emplacements, title and salary info so you don’t must search frantically for this info while the investigator is there. Whether or not you’re not certain what a paf is, or whether or not you’d like to have your documents reviewed by legal counsel, you may contact our office at the number or e-mail underneath.