Immigration Law

Immigration law is in its own section and is important to understand if the need for assistance arises. Finding an expert in the field is the best way to accomplish a positive outcome and helping the process not drag on for a long time. There are numerous immigration lawyers and attorneys that can be of assistance if an individual requires help with immigration law.

There has been an investigation program conducted recently about the H-1B petitioner United States (US) work sites. This has been conducted by the US Department of Homeland Security and Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS). This effort started as a CIS goal decreasing H-1B violations as well as fraud instances. These are reported by H-1B Benefit Fraud and Compliance Assessment through the CIS Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) office. Reports indicate one in five applications involve fraud for the H-1B program as well as could be dealing with technical violations.

This information is important for employers if they are sponsoring a foreign national worker that is applying for an H-1B visa. There could be a site visit that is unannounced. An investigator could come to the work site at anytime to demand an H-1B petition copy for review as well as interviewing the company representative with the H-1B. Other employees include the H-1B candidate at the work site. If there is anything out of place then the employer could be in trouble.

There is not subpoena needed for the FDNS to contact a work site visit. The USCIS regulations with this govern the immigration filing petitions that allow them to take testimonies as well as conducting a variety of investigations for petitions. Even with this information provided employers are not necessarily required to provide information to the investigator when there is no subpoena. It is best for those involved though to comply with everything that the investigative agency needs. If the company or employer would be more comfortable though to have a lawyer present it is expectable. Nevertheless, the lawyer needs to arrive quickly because the investigator will usually not reschedule and want to go though the visit anyway. If this is the case and the lawyer is not able to attend then they could be available by the phone to talk with the individual.

Those chosen for these visits are chosen at random. The visit is not a worry and does not mean there is an issue. If an issue is found then it will be presented to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Labor Department and a deeper investigation will be done.

If you are a business owner with foreign employees working on a work visa, it is best to be prepared about a possible visit. To ensure that your records are maintained, have easy access to all ‘Public Access Files’ for each of the workers. Ensure that the documents are updated. Prepare a list of facts about the company, workers on H-1B, salary information and work locations. Get a worker to meet the investigator when they arrive.