THE NEW FACE OF FDNS: Social Networking Sites and Their Importance to FDNS.

A CIS internal memorandum has been circulating which instructs DHS Fraud Detection officers on how to use Facebook, MySpace and similar internet sites to detect fraud in immigration cases. While most people are aware that this has probably been going on for some time now, it is now officially in writing and there can be no doubt about the importance of monitoring what is posted on the internet (either by you or by someone else).

The memorandum is vague in terms of how CIS examiners are to find information, or how they will disclose (if at all) that they have found grounds to deny an application for an immigration benefit. Basically this will give the CIS an ability to perform an “unannounced cyber visit” to any petitioner or beneficiary’s web page with the hope of detecting fraud.

Read the the full text of the memorandum at:

http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/social_network/DHS_CustomsImmigration_SocialNetworking.pdf

Contact Us – Nachman & Associates, P.C. – Global Business Immigration Lawyers.

Our staff of immigration law professionals are sensitive to the needs of our clients and the members of their families. Many members of our staff are themselves foreign born and have family and/or friends who have gone through the immigration process. As a result, our staff of business immigration law professionals have a personal and unique approach to processing visas and for dealing with our foreign national clientele. Our legal team can clearly explain how to process temporary and permanent work permits in the U.S. The PERM Labor Certification Process is time-consuming and complex and our staff of business immigration law professionals can clearly explain the process in Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Tamil, Hindi, Slovak, Czech, Russian, Chinese, German and English.
To schedule a consultation, please feel free to contact us at info@visaserve.com or you can call us at 201-670-0006 (x100) or Toll Free at 1-866-599-3625.

H-1B Site Visits Soon To Become a Routine Protocol:

For the past few months, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
Citizenship and Immigration Services (”CIS”) has conducted an
investigation program aimed at visiting H-1B petitioner worksites
throughout the U.S. These site visits began as part of the CIS’ goal to
decrease the number of H-1B violations and instances of fraud reported by the H-1B Benefit Fraud & Compliance Assessment from CIS’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security (”FDNS”), published this past September. According to the FDNS’ findings, as many as one in five H-1B applications were affected by either fraud or “technical violations” of the H-1B program.

Why should employers care? Any employer who sponsored a foreign national worker for an H-1B visa can be subject to an unannounced site visit. What this means is that an investigator can randomly show up at a worksite and demand to see a copy of the H-1B petition, interview the person who represented the company in connection with the H-1B as well as the H-1B employee or other employees presently on site. Any inconsistencies found can mean big trouble for employers.

FDNS has indicated that it does not need a subpoena in order to complete
the site visit because USCIS regulations governing the filing of
immigration petitions allow the government to take testimony and conduct broad investigations relating to the petitions. However other sources say that employers are not required to give in to the investigators’ demands without a subpoena. What to do? Our office recommends that you always comply as much as possible with any investigative agency that shows up at your door. CIS has indicated that attorneys can be present during an inspection, but the investigator is not likely going to come back another day if the attorney is not available on the day of the unscheduled visit. Attorneys may be present via telephone in these circumstances.

Some common questions that have been raised by employers include: “how are companies selected to be investigated,” “if I am visited, should I be concerned,” “what type of violations are the investigators looking for,”
and “how can I prepare for a site visit from a CIS/FDNS investigator?” To
address these issues in order, firstly any employer who has filed an H-1B
petition can be subject to a site visit. While CIS claims the employers
are chosen at random, close to 40,000 employers’ names have been selected for site visits. Some factors that may have been taken into consideration when selecting these 40,000 employers include: companies with less than 15 employees; companies with less than $10 million in sales; companies less than 10 years old; accounting, HR, business analyst, sales and advertising positions; and petitions where the beneficiary merely had a bachelor’s degree, not an advanced degree.

If your company is visited and your records are in order, you have nothing to worry about. Generally speaking employers are aware of inconsistencies before any investigative agency may catch wind of it. That being said, if the investigators uncover any inconsistencies or instances of fraud, the case may be referred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or the Department of Labor (DOL) for further investigation depending on the offense. This could mean there will be monetary, and if egregious offenses, possible criminal penalties for the employer.

The objective of the unannounced on-site visits is clear: to detect fraud
and abuses of the visa program. According to USCIS, the offenses range
from technical violations to outright fraud, with the most common
violation being the non- payment of a prevailing wage to the H-1B
beneficiary. More specifically, the investigators may be looking for the
following types of violations: job location not listed on the H-1B
petition and/or LCA; H-1B worker not receiving the required wage;
fraudulent H-1B documents or H-1B worker credentials; non-existent
business or office location; job duties significantly different from those
listed on H-1B petition/LCA; misrepresentation of H-1B status by the H-1B
worker (e.g., had been terminated from previous H-1B position prior to new employer H-1B being filed); and H-1B worker paid the $1500 ACWIA fee.

How can you prepare yourself and your company for a possible site visit?
Step one is to ensure that you have Public Access Files (PAF) for each
H-1B worker, and that the PAF documents are accurate and up to date. In
general, it is a good idea to review and audit your H-1B/LCA records to
make sure everything is in order and all information is readily available.
Designate a specific individual at each H-1B worker location to meet the
investigator should he/she arrive. Prepare a quick list of facts about the
company and also a listing of H-1B workers, work locations, title and
salary information so you don’t need to search frantically for this
information while the investigator is there. If you are not sure what a
PAF is, or if you’d like to have your documents reviewed by legal counsel,
you may contact our office at the number or e-mail below.

Learn more About Nachman & Associates, P.C. When traditional immigration  approaches do not work, our skilled legal team offers many visa options to meet your immigration goals. Please feel free to contact us at any of our office locations, and speak to an associate in one of our 12
languages spoken, including: Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Slovak,
Czech, Polish, Tagalog, Italian, Russian, Chinese, and German.

To meet a growing demand for Canadian immigration from the United States, in 2005 Nachman & Associates formed a Canadian Division, managed by licensed Canadian legal staff. With offices in Montreal, and Toronto, Canada (as well as in New York and New Jersey in the U.S.) our Canadian Division attorneys are in the unique position to assist with cross-border issues. If you, or any member of your staff, are interested in receiving more information about U.S. and/or Canadian Immigration options, please contact our offices at 201-670-0006 (x100) or e-mail to us at info@visaserve.com.

Website: http://www.visaserve.com
Nachman & Associates, P.C.
David H. Nachman, Managing Attorney
email: david_nachman@visaserve.com

phone: 201-670-0006 ext. 100

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Nachman

DHS Unveils Initiatives to Enhance E-Verify.

Release Date: March 17, 2010

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary

Contact: 202-282-8010

Agreement with Department of Justice and Outreach Initiatives Will Strengthen E-Verify for Employers and Employees

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today joined U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas to announce a trio of initiatives to strengthen the efficiency and accuracy of the EVerify
system.

These initiatives include a new agreement with the Department of Justice that will streamline the adjudication process in cases of E-Verify misuse and discrimination; an informational telephone hotline for employees to provide a more timely, effective and seamless customer experience for workers seeking E-Verify information; and new training videos focusing on E-Verify procedures and policies, employee rights and employer responsibilities in English and Spanish.

“E-Verify is a smart, simple and effective tool that helps employers across the country maintain a legal workforce,” said Secretary Napolitano. “The initiatives announced today will provide essential information to workers about their rights and ensure that E-Verify is used fairly while bolstering the Department’s efforts to protect critical employment opportunities.”
“USCIS continues to partner with our federal colleagues, as well as industry and employee representatives, to build a verification program that is accurate, efficient and fair for employers and workers alike,” said Director Mayorkas. “We look forward to working with our colleagues in the Department of Justice to ensure the continued integrity and improvement of EVerify.”

“This agreement will better enable us to protect individuals who are authorized to work in this country from national origin or citizenship-status discrimination,” said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Division Thomas Perez. “We will not hesitate to take action against employers who violate our nation’s civil rights laws.” The Memorandum of Agreement signed between USCIS and the Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices establishes a streamlined process for addressing potential cases of discrimination and employer misuse of E-Verify and establishes protocol between USCIS and the Department of Justice for referring matters that fall within the agencies’ respective jurisdictions.

The two new, educational training videos, explaining E-Verify procedures and policies, employee rights and employer responsibilities in English and Spanish were created by the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and are viewable at www.dhs.gov/e-verify and www.youtube.com/ushomelandsecurity.
Additionally, the USCIS E-Verify help line will now offer employees information about the E-Verify process, as well as assistance in completing the Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification). Callers can also use the help line to file complaints about possible discrimination or employer misuse of the E-Verify program. The hotline number is (888) 897-7781 and will be active beginning April 5, 2010.

E-Verify is a free, easy-to-use Web-based system—operated in partnership by USCIS and the Social Security Administration
—that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of newly-hired employees. More than
192,000 participating employers at more than 705,000 worksites nationwide currently use E-Verify to electronically verify their
workers’ employment eligibility. Since Oct. 1, 2009, E-Verify has processed more than six million queries.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov/e-verify.

For the past few months, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services (”CIS”) has conducted an investigation program aimed at visiting H-1B petitioner worksites throughout the U.S. These site visits began as part of the CIS’ goal to decrease the number of H-1B violations and instances of fraud reported by the H-1B Benefit Fraud & Compliance Assessment from CIS’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security (“FDNS”), published this past September.

Why should employers care?

Any employer who sponsored a foreign national worker for an H-1B visa can be subject to an unannounced site visit. What this means is that an investigator can randomly show up at a worksite and demand to see a copy of the H-1B petition, interview the person who represented the company in connection with the H-1B as well as the H-1B employee. Any inconsistencies found can mean big trouble for employers.
Presently CIS has turned over the names of close to 40,000 companies across the US for investigative action via unannounced site visits.

For more information about these H-1B site visits, as well as helpful tips to prepare employers for these visits, please click on our Firm’s website at www.visaserve.com.

Article:

For the past few months, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services (”CIS”) has conducted an investigation program aimed at visiting H-1B petitioner worksites throughout the U.S. These site visits began as part of the CIS’ goal to decrease the number of H-1B violations and instances of fraud reported by the H-1B Benefit Fraud & Compliance Assessment from CIS’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security (“FDNS”), published this past September. According to the FDNS’ findings, as many as one in five H-1B applications were affected by either fraud or “technical violations” of the H-1B program.

Why should employers care?

Any employer who sponsored a foreign national worker for an H-1B visa can be subject to an unannounced site visit. What this means is that an investigator can randomly show up at a worksite and demand to see a copy of the H-1B petition, interview the person who represented the company in connection with the H-1B as well as the H-1B employee or other employees presently on site.

Any inconsistencies found can mean big trouble for employers. FDNS has indicated that it does not need a subpoena in order to complete the site visit because USCIS regulations governing the filing of immigration petitions allow the government to take testimony and conduct broad investigations relating to the petitions.

However other sources say that employers are not required to give in to the investigators’ demands without a subpoena.

What to do?

Our office recommends that you always comply as much as possible with any investigative agency that shows up at your door. CIS has indicated that attorneys can be present during an inspection, but the investigator is not likely going to come back another day if the attorney is not available on the day of the unscheduled visit.

Attorneys may be present via telephone in these circumstances.

Some common questions that have been raised by employers include: “how are companies selected to be investigated,” “if I am visited, should I be concerned,” “what type of violations are the investigators looking for,” and “how can I prepare for a site visit from a CIS/FDNS investigator?”
To address these issues in order, firstly any employer who has filed an H-1B petition can be subject to a site visit. While CIS claims the employers are chosen at random, close to 40,000 employers’ names have been selected for site visits.

Some factors that may have been taken into consideration when selecting these 40,000 employers include: companies with less than 15 employees; companies with less than $10 million in sales; companies less than 10 years old; accounting, HR, business analyst, sales and advertising positions; and petitions where the beneficiary merely had a bachelor’s degree, not an advanced degree.

If your company is visited and your records are in order, you have nothing to worry about. Generally speaking employers are aware of inconsistencies before any investigative agency may catch wind of it. That being said, if the investigators uncover any inconsistencies or instances of fraud, the case may be referred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or the Department of Labor (DOL) for further investigation depending on the offense.

This could mean there will be monetary, and if egregious offenses, possible criminal penalties for the employer.
The objective of the unannounced on-site visits is clear: to detect fraud and abuses of the visa program. According to USCIS, the offenses range from technical violations to outright fraud, with the most common violation being the non-payment of a prevailing wage to the H-1B beneficiary.

More specifically, the investigators may be looking for the following types of violations: job location not listed on the H-1B petition and/or LCA; H-1B worker not receiving the required wage; fraudulent H-1B documents or H-1B worker credentials; non-existent business or office location; job duties significantly different from those listed on H-1B petition/LCA; misrepresentation of H-1B status by the H-1B worker (e.g., had been terminated from previous H-1B position prior to new employer H-1B being filed); and H-1B worker paid the $1500 ACWIA fee.

How can you prepare yourself and your company for a possible site visit?

Step one is to ensure that you have Public Access Files (PAF) for each H-1B worker, and that the PAF documents are accurate and up to date. In general, it is a good idea to review and audit your H-1B/LCA records to make sure everything is in order and all information is readily available. Designate a specific individual at each H-1B worker location to meet the investigator should he/she arrive.

Prepare a quick list of facts about the company and also a listing of H-1B workers, work locations, title and salary information so you don’t need to search frantically for this information while the investigator is there. If you are not sure what a PAF is, or if you’d like to have your documents reviewed by legal counsel, you may contact our office at the number or e-mail below.

About Nachman & Associates, P.C.

The Business and Corporate Immigration Attorneys at our Firm have focused their practice, for over a decade and a half, on assisting companies that employ highly-skilled foreign nationals in visa applications. We serve our clients’ business objectives. A natural extension of that service is counsel that helps the client to avoid the disruption and expense of ICE audits, recent CIS actions and the consequences of being found to be out of compliance with any number of regulations related to immigration and employment.

Our Business Immigration Attorneys can organize and conduct a review of records, assist in establishing procedures to reduce exposure to liability, and participate in training of managers to comply with the numerous requirements imposed by the US Department of Homeland Security.

Contact us for more information: Website: http://www.visaserve.com
Phone: 201-670-0006

E-mail: info@visaserve.com