Perez & Associates | Immigration Visas | Strategies for Employers

Since 1986 it has been against the law for a U.S. employer to employ a person who is not authorized to work in the U.S. From 1986 to 2009 the main focus of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and now U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was to educate employers about the legal obligations and encourage compliance with the laws. In 2010 that all changed. In 2010 the focus of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement changed from education and compliance to enforcement and punishment. Now, instead of merely deporting any person found working without authorization, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offers those foreign nationals legal status in the United States in return for testimony that will allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to charge the managers and owners of the employer with criminal charges associated with knowingly employing persons who are not authorized to work in the U.S. Even more troubling, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has filed criminal charges against employers by making them responsible for the employment practices of subcontractors.

Perez & Associates can (1) conduct an internal audit of your hiring and record keeping practices to make sure that you are in full compliance with the requirements of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA); (2) draft agreements for you to use with subcontractors that will safeguard you from being held constructively responsible for the hiring practices of the subcontractor; (3) prepare you so that you will know how to respond if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement knocks on your door; (4) and represent you in any proceedings resulting from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement audit.

Whether it’s complying with I-9 requirements, responding to a government audit, or determining if it makes sense to temporarily or permanently employ a foreign national, United States employers often feel overwhelmed by the immigration laws. Uncertainty about immigration laws and procedures can result in unnecessary fines and the avoidance of what could be terrific employees. For employers, from small businesses to large national companies, Perez & Associates can take the fear and unpredictability out of immigration laws and processes. At Perez and Associates we work hand in hand with our institutional clients and their HR departments to simplify compliance issues and immigration processes. Perez & Associates does this with a three-step approach:

Practical Knowledge: We provide our institutional clients with a practical understanding of what is required by the immigration laws. By taking the mystery out of the process employers are better able to avoid violations of immigration laws.

Recommendations for Internal Procedures: We provide our clients with information about creating internal procedures to monitor such things as I-9 compliance, record keeping, and the expiration of work authorizations.

Development of Immigration Strategies: With proper planning most immigration goals related to the employment of foreign nationals can be achieved. With our strategies employers can focus on hiring and keeping the best and the brightest and stop making employment decisions based on a person’s immigration status. With our strategies employers will know how to

Determine the correct type of nonimmigrant visas to minimize organizational risks;
Navigate the maze of employment-based immigration options to ensure compliance with regulations;
Eliminate staffing problems by implementing immigration strategies that will ensure the ongoing availability of temporary and permanent foreign workers;
Realistically predict the success of petitions seeking to temporarily or permanently employ a foreign national;
Respond should the government knock on the door; and
Accomplish the above with a minimal amount of HR time involvement.

Stop wasting valuable resources worrying about I-9 compliance, engaging in longer hiring processes because foreign applicants are not being considered, figuring out and trying to navigate the maze of laws involved in the temporary or permanent employment of foreign nationals, and pursuing immigration benefits that fail because of improper planning or a misunderstanding of the legal requirements for the benefit. Call Perez & Associates and we will let you focus on what is really important. The bottom line.

STRATEGIES FOR EMPLOYERS