USCIS is moving forward with a plan to implement a preliminary registration system for cap-subject H-1B petitions that will drastically change the H-1B visa filing process employers have used for years. On September 3, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a notice about its proposed rulemaking for its electronic H-1B implementation tool, which would …
The Risks of Auto/Pre – Population and the Form I-9
Keeping it simple is often a key goal in any compliance policy for a company, but sometimes it may not be a best practice and indeed could cause a company to incur liability. Employers should consider onboarding personnel products carefully and it is important not to overlook if such products attempt to address the conundrum …
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Welcome New Treaty Trader and Investors from New Zealand and Israel
New Zealand and the KIWI Act Recently, Mission New Zealand for the U.S. Department of State posted the announcement that as of June 10, 2019, citizens and businesses of New Zealand will be able to apply for E-1 Treaty Trader and E-2 Treaty Investor visas to invest in and trade with the United States (U.S.). …
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Consular Electronic Application Forms Add Social Media History Questions – Heads UP Visa Applicants!
Applicants for immigrant and nonimmigrant visas must use the Department of State’s Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) to complete on-line forms for nonimmigrant (DS-160) or immigrant (DS-260) visas. This week, applicants have started experiencing a new question on the form related to their social media presence. A screen shot of the question is inserted below. …
The Social Security No Match Letter Conundrum for Employers: What to do in Sixty Days?
More than 570,000 No Match letters (NML) have been sent by the Social Security Administration (SSA) starting in late March of 2019 with instructions for the Employer to review the name and social security number (SSN) provided on the W-2 form (Wage and Tax Statement) and to provide any necessary corrections to the SSA with …
Canadian L Visa Admissions – CBP Changes Course without Prior Notice Creating New Non-Tariff Barrier
A few weeks ago, stories of Canadian citizens being refused admission to the U.S. as individual or blanket L applicants requesting an additional period of stay in the U.S. started to increase. The sheer number of reports suggests a possible new policy versus an errant occurrence at certain ports of entry along the Canadian border …
Criminal Warrants for Employers and the Risk of “Knowing” Hires
On April 3, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a press release regarding its largest worksite enforcement action at one site in ten years against CVE Technology Group Inc. (CVE), a consumer electronics refurbishment and reverse logistics business, at its receiving center’s offices in Allen, Texas north of Dallas. The action resulted in the arrest …
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The IRS and the FICA, FUTA and Federal Income Tax Traps for Employers with Non-Resident Alien Employees
With all of the payroll complexities that employers face, it is no surprise that a special set of rules that applies to only a small category of employees is frequently overlooked. Often, to the surprise of payroll and human resources staff, special Federal Insurance Contributions Act (“FICA,” composed of Social Security and Medicare taxes), Federal …
ESTA-Like Registration Process Spreads to Europe for U.S. Citizens’ Travel in 2021
Several media outlets recently reported on a new pre-registration requirement for U.S. citizens traveling to any of the 26 Schengen-area countries, plus additional participating European countries and microstates (34 total at present), which will become effective on January 1, 2021. The ETIAS registration will also apply to citizens of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Japan, New …
New Change/Extension of Status Forms (I-539/I-539A) Become Effective on March 22 – What is new (Biometrics for babies…)?
The use of new forms (Form I-539 and a new I-539A) seems like a very mundane subject to merit an alert, but indeed coming right before the start of the fiscal year 2020 H-1B cap filing season in April of 2019, it deserves attention and concern. On March 8, USCIS published a new I-539 form …