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In a blow to employers, a federal district court has upheld a USCIS memorandum that set out factors to determine whether an employer-employee relationship existed for H-1B nonimmigrant visa petition adjudication purposes.

The case was brought by an IT staffing firm that, along with other IT staffing firms and trade associations, challenged the validity of…

On August 9, 2010, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amended its regulatory definition of “dependents” for A or G principal aliens to include, in addition to spouses and unmarried sons and daughters, those who are not related to the principal alien by blood, marriage or adoption.
Previously, DHS regulations allowed only the following…

On July 22, Judge Susan Bolton of the U.S. District Court in Phoenix heard arguments in two of the most highly publicized challenges to Arizona Senate Bill 1070: (1) the lawsuit filed by a coalition of civil rights groups and labor unions; and (2) the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”). The…

In April 2005 when Public Law 108-390 went into effect allowing for employers to sign and retain I-9 employment eligibility verification forms electronically, employers and immigration practitioners alike may have been justifiably confused as provisional guidance from the Department of Homeland Security’s ICE (Immigration Customs and Enforcement) division on their web page http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/factsheets/i-9employment.htm was introduced.

The scorching Texas summer is not the only heat Texas employers are feeling these days. According to a recent article in the Houston Chronicle, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has hit 23 Texas companies with civil fines exceeding $600,000 for hiring unauthorized workers, failing to comply with regulatory employment verification requirements, or…

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a challenge to the state of Arizona’s recently passed immigration law, S.B. 1070, in federal court.

The Arizona law, called the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act and scheduled to take effect on July 29, is already the target of at least five other lawsuits filed…

The list of lawsuits challenging Arizona’s Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (Senate Bill 1070) continues to grow. On May 17, 2010, 14 civil and immigrant-rights groups, along with 10 individuals, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 1070. At least five separate lawsuits have been filed…

While Arizona’s controversial new immigration law, Senate Bill 1070, continues to garner national attention in the months leading up to its July 29 effective date, employers in Arizona must not forget their obligations under the already effective Legal Arizona Workers Act (“LAWA”). LAWA imposes severe penalties on employers who either “knowingly” or “intentionally” hire unauthorized…