Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

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I-9 flexibility is extended until October 31, 2022, due to continuing COVID-19 precautions.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidance remains the same and preparing for the possible end of the flexibility is still advised. Indeed, DHS stated, “[E]mployers are encouraged to begin, at their discretion, the in-person verification of identity and employment eligibility for…

As of May 1, 2022, employers can no longer accept expired List B documents for Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification purposes, and any expired List B documents that were previously accepted must be updated by July 31, 2022.

Allowing employees to present these expired documents was a temporary policy instituted by the Department of…

A series of significant developments in U.S. immigration law has already marked the beginning of 2022 and more can be expected.  Please see our Legal Update for what to anticipate as the year progresses.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has reached an agreement with three of its unions on its COVID-19 re-entry plan.

SSA offices have been essentially closed to the public since March 2020. That affected SSA’s ability to resolve E-Verify Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs) due to a no-match between a person’s name and Social Security Number. The result…

ICE has announced it will extend I-9 flexibility until April 30, 2022, due to continuing precautions related to COVID-19.

The guidance remains the same:

  • Employees who work exclusively in a remote setting due to COVID-19 continue to be temporarily exempt from the in-person requirements associated with Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, until they start working

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Nonimmigrant spouses of H-1B and L-1 visa holders with long-pending EAD applications have finally received some relief. Based upon a settlement in Shergill v. Mayokas, USCIS is making major policy changes. Going forward, certain H-4 spouses with pending EAD applications will be entitled to 180-day automatic extensions of their EAD cards and L-2…

Efforts to pass “Dreamers” bills that would provide a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients have remained stagnant. In an effort to stabilize the DACA program, absent congressional action, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a proposed federal regulation announcing its intent to codify the DACA program.

The…

The decades-old I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification process may be in for some changes. The Department of Homeland Security is requesting “public input” regarding the document examination process.

Employers interested in the permanent continuation of Form I-9 flexibility might be encouraged by the agency’s official announcement on October 26, 2021. While the request is for “information…

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro N. Mayorkas has issued a policy directive to immediately discontinue mass worksite enforcement operations.

These involve large-scale law enforcement operations resulting in the arrest of hundreds of unauthorized workers. They were a significant part of the Trump Administration’s worksite enforcement strategy.

Secretary Mayorkas criticized these large-scale…