Author:  Harry J. Joe.

Financial burdens imposed upon an employer by non-immigration-related governmental entities is a factor that can be considered in lowering the assessed civil monetary penalty for the employer’s failure to complete the I-9 Employment Verification Forms for its employees in a proper and timely manner, even though such burdens were temporary, the

AUTHOR:  Robert Neale.

CNET, a leading tech media website, has reported that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had approved a P-1 petition submitted by a professional electronic sports (or “eSports”) gaming team from the United Kingdom. This is the first report that USCIS has approved P-1 status to a professional eSports team.

While Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it stopped issuing I-94 arrival/departure cards on May 21, 2013 (instead, the foreign passport is stamped and the entry is recorded electronically; the record can be accessed online), some land ports of entry still issue actual I-94 cards. Despite the new system, foreign nationals have reported

AUTHOR:  Harry J. Joe.

The United States Department of Justice announced on July 8, 2013 that its Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration – Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Labor Relations Board that will allow both agencies to share information, to

On July 10, 2013, the Second Circuit, applying the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hoffman Plastics, denied back pay to undocumented bakery workers who were terminated for participating in protected labor activities.  The Court rejected the argument that the matter should be distinguished from Hoffman Plastics since the petitioners committed no fraud in obtaining employment.  Unlike

AUTHOR:  Harry J. Joe.

An employer who failed to complete an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form within three days of an employee’s start date commits a substantive violation for which the good faith defense is not available to mitigate the assessed fine, according to a recent ruling from the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken another swipe at an Arizona statute that addresses the State’s response to illegal immigration.  In Arizona v. Intertribal Council of Arizona, Inc., No. 12-71 (June 17, 2013), the Court invalidated part of Arizona’s voter registration law, which required applicants to submit documentary evidence of citizenship when registering to vote

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s release of its decision in United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307 (June 26, 2013), DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano issued an updated statement confirming that “President Obama [had] directed federal departments to ensure the decision and its implication for federal benefits for same-sex legally married couples are implemented swiftly and smoothly.”