Immigration Fundamentals and Federal Update Greenville County Bar

Immigration Fundamentals and Federal Update Greenville County Bar Year-End CLE February 2, 2018 Garrett D. Steck, Esq. Suyash S. Raiborde, Esq.

Immigration Fundamentals • Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) – November 7, 1986 – Can’t KNOWINGLY hire, recruit, or refer unauthorized alien – Can’t continue to employ unauthorized alien – Can’t discriminate in verification practices – Established penalties for noncompliance – Introduced Form I-9

Immigration Fundamentals • I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form – Verify identity and employment authorization – Current version: July 17, 2017 N • – Expires Aug. 31, 2019 M-274 Handbook for Employers: • https: //www. uscis. gov/i-9 -central/handbook-employers-m-274

Immigration Fundamentals

Immigration Fundamentals • Form I-9, Section 1. Employee Information and Attestation: – Citizen – Noncitizen national – Lawful permanent resident – Alien authorized to work

Immigration Fundamentals • U. S. Citizen: – Birth in the U. S. and certain incorporated territories – Birth abroad to U. S. parent(s) – Naturalization – Evidenced by: • Passport card

Immigration Fundamentals • Noncitizen National: – Birth in unincorporated outlying possession of the U. S. (American Samoa and former citizens of the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) – Birth outside the U. S. or its outlying possessions to noncitizen nationals

Immigration Fundamentals • Lawful Permanent Resident: –Live and work in the U. S. indefinitely –Requires immigrant intent and sponsorship • Family-based • Employment-based –Requires continued physical presence in U. S. –Cannot vote –Evidenced by a Green Card or temporary immigrant visa

Immigration Fundamentals

Immigration Fundamentals • Alien authorized to work – Employment authorization based on nonimmigrant visa status

Immigration Fundamentals • Alphabet soup of nonimmigrant visas: – E: Treaty traders and investors – F: Students (with authorization) – H: Specialized knowledge/temporary workers/agricultural – J: Interns, trainees, professors, medical residents – L: Intra-company transferees – O: Extraordinary ability in business, arts, sciences, athletics – P: Performing athletes and entertainers recognized internationally – R: Religious workers – TN: Canadian and Mexican NAFTA professionals

Immigration Fundamentals • Alien authorized to work (temporary visa based) – I-94 Arrival Record. Evidence of admission reflects: visa type, date and place of entry, expiration of authorized stay

Immigration Fundamentals • I-94 Arrival Record – https: //i 94. cbp. dhs. gov/I 94/

Immigration Fundamentals • Alien authorized to work (non-visa): – F-1 Students (OPT/STEM Ext. ) – E/L/some H spouses – Temporary Protected Status (TPS) – safe haven for armed conflict or natural disaster – DACA – Adjusting Immigrants • Evidenced by Employment Authorization Document (EAD)

Immigration Fundamentals

Immigration Fundamentals • E-Verify – Formerly known as “Basic Electronic Employment Verification Program” mandated by Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 – Voluntary* (Mandatory in S. C. ) – Free, internet-based – Automated employment verification to participating employers for newly hired workers using SSA and DHS databases – https: //www. uscis. gov/e-verify

Immigration Fundamentals • E-Verify Statistics • Enrolled/MOU – 750, 000+ employers • Total E-Verify Cases: 34, 853, 667 • 98. 91 percent of employees are automatically confirmed as authorized to work ("work authorized") either instantly or within 24 hours, requiring no employee or employer action

Immigration Fundamentals • S. C. Illegal Immigration Reform Act (2008) – Amended 2011: • Mandatory use of E-Verify as of January 1, 2012 – ALL EMPLOYERS • Prohibits knowing or intentional employment of unauthorized alien • Subject to audit and investigation by S. C. LLR Office of Immigrant Worker Compliance

Federal Updates

Federal Updates • State of the Union Address – “Four Pillars of Immigration” • Pathway to citizenship for 1. 8 million DACA recipients • Secure the southern border • End the visa lottery • End chain migration

Federal Updates • Immigration Policy Priorities – Oct. 8, 2017 – Border Security • Fund and construct the southern border wall – Interior Enforcement • Hire 10, 000 more ICE officers and 300 Federal prosecutors – Possible Changes in the Law • End extended-family-chain migration • Changes to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) • Possible termination of the Diversity Visa Lottery Program • Establish point-based system for green cards to protect U. S. workers and taxpayers

Federal Updates • “Travel Bans” – Travel Ban #1 – Executive Order dated Jan. 27, 2017 – Clarification of Travel Ban #1 – “Authoritative Guidance” dated Feb. 2, 2017 – Travel Ban #2 – Executive Order dated March 6, 2017 – Travel Ban #3 – Proclamation effective Oct. 18, 2017 • Oct. 17, 2017: Judge D. Watson (U. S. District Court in Hawaii) temporarily blocks Travel Ban #3 • Dec. 4, 2017: SCOTUS reversed lower court’s temporary injunction • Jan. 19, 2018: SCOTUS announced review of Travel Ban set for June 2018

Federal Updates • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) – White House proposal • Path to citizenship for estimated 1. 8 million undocumented immigrants • Aggressive cuts to legal immigration (chain migration, Diversity Visa Lottery, etc. ) • $25 billion for the wall and other border security – Possible one-year extension of DACA – Policy Issue: Should legislators address DACA separately, or as part of a broader immigration reform action?

Federal Updates • Buy American, Hire American – Executive Order signed April 18, 2017 – Policy Goals • General: to create higher wages and employment rates for U. S. workers, to protect U. S. workers’ economic interests by enforcing immigration laws, and to prevent fraud • Specific: directive to Department of Homeland Security to work with other agencies to advance policies to ensure H-1 B visas are awarded to highest skilled workers • "maximize. . . the use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States" • "rigorously enforce and administer the laws governing entry into the United States of workers from abroad"

Federal Updates • Immigration Bureaucracy – RFEs: Jan. 2017 to Nov. 2017, USCIS issued 40% more RFEs than in all of 2016, and 65% more than in all of 2015 – ICE audits: in 2017, ICE audited 1, 360 U. S. businesses resulting in 71 indictments and 55 convictions • Civil penalties for knowingly hiring undocumented workers range from $548 to $21, 916 per violation. • Form I-9 Violation Penalties – Buffalo Transportation incurred a $75, 000 fine for failing to use the Form I-9 – Panda Express incurred a $400, 000 fine in July 2017 for discriminatory document requirements – Hartmann Studios incurred a $600, 000 fine for failing to sign Form I-9 at the time they were completed

Thank you. Garrett D. Steck One N. Main Street, Greenville SC 29601 gsteck@hsblawfirm. com Skype: Gsteck 1 Suyash Raiborde One N. Main Street, Greenville SC 29601 sraiborde@hsblawfirm. com Phone: 864 -240 -3200 This information is not to be construed as legal advice or as pertaining to specific factual situations. Any result the law firm and/or its attorneys may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients. © 2017 Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P. A.