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3900 Veterans Memorial Hwy
Suite 120
Bohemia, NY 11716
Tel:  631-588-4040
Fax: 631-588-7175
E-mail: mczwaik@zwaik.com
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2753 Coney Island Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11235
Tel: 718-891-0007
Fax: 718-891-1203
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Contents
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MITCHELL'S MESSAGE
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Following the defeat of Comprehensive Immigration Reform this summer, several important developments bear
watching. These include: (1) new raids by immigration agents at private homes in Hempstead, Brentwood, Central
Islip and Westbury; (2) a new enforcement crackdown on employers who ignore "no-match" letters from Social Security;
(3) a USCIS promise for faster processing time for H-2B applications; and (4) an unsuccessful attempt to
revive the DREAM Act that would give legal status to immigrant children who have graduated from American
schools or served in the U.S. military.
We will discuss these issues -- and more -- in this month's newsletter, as well as at a
FREE SEMINAR
we will be hosting on October 9th and October 11th.
You are Invited to an Important Immigration Law Seminar:
"Streamlining H-2B Visas and the Immigration Crackdown"
8:30 AM Tues Oct 9th (Inn at East Wind in Wading River)
or
8:30 AM Thurs Oct 11th (Smithtown Sheraton in Hauppauge)
Who Should Attend?
• Business Owners
• HR Managers
• Professional Advisors
What You Will Learn?
• How to get quicker approval of H-2Bs for seasonal workers
• How to respond to the immigration crackdown
• How to deal with "no-match" letters from Social Security
• How to get your employees in immigration compliance
RSVP to:
631-588-4040 or
E-mail: events@zwaik.com
In other news developments, the annual green card lottery will be returning in October.
Read more about this issue in the Employer News sections below.
If you have comments or suggestions about this newsletter, call me at
631-588-4040 or e-mail me at
mczwaik@zwaik.com.
Thanks.
Mitchell Zwaik
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IMMIGRATION NEWS
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ICE Agents Raid Long Island Homes
Agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, accompanied by local law enforcement, conducted
early morning raids in Hispanic communities in Hempstead, Brentwood, Central Islip and Westbury over the
last few days. ICE agents are reported to be conducting raids at private homes and in some instances following
individuals on the street. ICE officials confirmed the raids but would not indicate how many people were
arrested. The raids produced immediate opposition from Hispanic community organizations who accused ICE
of spreading fear and intimidation in their communities. There was no immediate word from ICE as to the nature
of these investigations or whether additional raids were planned.
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EMPLOYER NEWS
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California Federal Court Temporarily Halts DHS Crackdown
On August 31st, the U.S. district court in northern California issued a temporary restraining order that halted
a proposed immigration crackdown on employers who ignore
"no-match" letters issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA). A no-match
letter, formally called an "employer correction request" is sent by the SSA stating that the combination of the
employee's name and social security number does not match the SSA's records. Presently, an employer can
effectively disregard these letters with impunity. DHS has sought to change this by the issuance of new
regulations that were to take effect September 14, 2007. Under the regulations, approximately 140,000 employers
would receive no-match letters -- affecting 8 million workers -- accompanied by a letter from DHS informing employers
how to respond to the SSA letter and the consequences of their failure to act.
Since 1986, all U.S. employers are subject to civil (and in some cases criminal) penalties for knowingly hiring
or continuing to employ aliens who are not authorized to work in the United States. The law requires that an
employer at the time of hiring attest on an I-9 form that it has examined documents offered by the employee that
the worker is authorized to work. The documentation presented by the employee must "reasonably appear" on its
face to be genuine. Employers have been able to avoid government sanctions by properly completing the I-9 form,
even if the document later turns out to be fake.
Can an employer be liable if the I-9 was properly completed but the employer nevertheless "should have known"
that the worker was unauthorized? When is an employer required to investigate "reliable sources" that claim
the employee is "illegal" and what constitutes "reliable sources?" The new regulations seek to answer these
questions by specifying several situations in which the employer is put on notice of his duty to investigate
further. This includes (1) receipt of a "no-match letter" from SSA; (2) receipt of a notice from DHS (usually
after an I-9 audit) that the employee's employment authorization document does not match DHS records; or (3) an
employee's request for the employer's sponsorship for a labor certification or visa petition.
The new regulation lays out the steps the employer should follow after receiving such a letter.
The Court will hold a hearing on Monday, October 1st at which time it may extend the restraining order. If the
Court does not grant the extension, DHS could begin implementing the rule immediately.
Employers are encouraged to make use of this temporary breathing space granted by the California Court to make
sure its paperwork is in order and can stand up to a DHS audit. We will discuss the steps to be taken in our
October 9th and Oct 11th seminars.
H-2 Seasonal Worker Program Streamlined
Long Island employers began preparing their H-2 applications for 2008 this month, without the new streamlined
application process promised by the Department of Labor. For Long Island employers who have routinely been
shut out of these precious seasonal visas because of processing delays at the NYS labor Department, the promise
of a streamlined procedure was long overdo. The H-2B visas permit employers to hire foreign workers for seasonal
or "peak load" employment. These visas are critical for filling peak summer employment needs for landscapers,
pool companies, golf courses and marinas as well as East End contractors, hotels, motels, restaurants and
related businesses.
The H-2B visa is a "win/win" program: it significantly reduces the illegal day labor problem, fills employers'
needs during the height of the season, minimizes employment layoffs, and allows workers to enter the U.S.
legally, work legally, and return home during the cold winter months. In addition, the program does not
negatively impact on U.S. workers because the employer must first offer the job to U.S. workers by advertising
for the position in the local newspapers at the prevailing wage approved by the Department of Labor.
The number of H-2 visas issued each year is limited to 66,000 by statute and many Long Island employers have
been frozen out of the system because of processing delays by the New York State Department Labor, which must
give its initial approval before the application is forwarded to USCIS. By the time NYS completes its work,
most of the visas are already allocated.
The new regulation would eliminate the state labor departments from the equation, thus leveling the playing
field for Long Island employers. Future applications will be initially filed electronically with the U.S.
Department of Labor, thus creating one large, national pool.
Annual Green Card Lottery Returns in October
The annual registration for the "green card lottery" begins again this October, allowing hopeful immigrants
both here and abroad to submit their names for the chance to be randomly selected for a green card. The
registration for the program, officially known as the DV lottery, will begin at noon (EDT) on Wednesday,
October 3, 2007 and runs through noon (EST) on Sunday, December 2, 2007. Again this year, registration is by
electronic submission only.
The annual program makes 55,000 green card visas available to persons from "under subscribed" countries who
are selected by a computer-generated random drawing. Under subscribed countries include those countries in
the world with lower rates of immigration. The purpose is to allow for a fairer distribution of green cards
worldwide by excluding from the lottery nationals from those countries that supply the highest concentration
of immigrants. Thus nationals from 20 countries, including, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador,
India, Mexico, Pakistan and Russia are excluded from the lottery. It is also important to note that
immigrants who are illegally in the U.S. may be prevented from obtaining the green card visas, even if
they are selected by the computer.
To register, the eligible applicant will access the electronic entry form at
www.dvlottery.state.gov
from anywhere in the world during the registration period. They will be asked to supply basic biographic
information such as name, address, gender, date and place of birth. Registrants will also be required
to submit a digital photograph while online. There is no fee for the registration.
Winning entrants will be notified between May and July of 2008.
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IMMIGRATION REFORM
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DREAM Act Fails Another Test
Democrats failed last week in an attempt to add an amendment to the Defense authorization bill to include
legislation that would immediately legalize an estimated 360,000
children of undocumented immigrants and provide a path to citizenship through college enrollment or military
service. An additional 700,000 children between the ages of 5 and 17 would later become eligible under the program.
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2007 or DREAM Act has been introduced as an amendment
to the defense authorization bill.
The bill would provide temporary residency for six years to high-school graduated who have lived in the U.S.
continuously for five years and arrived here while under the age of 16. During the 6 years of temporary residence,
the applicant would be eligible for full citizenship if he or she attended college for two years or served at
least two years in the military.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid reaffirmed his support for the legislation on the U.S. Senate floor
and promised to move the measure forward by mid-November.
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DID YOU KNOW?
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It's a falsehood that Comprehensive Immigration Reform
will take jobs away from American workers
Here is the truth (note 1):
All of the proposals under consideration require employers to demonstrate that they were unable to fill
the position opening with a qualified U.S. worker. The proposals simply allow immigrant workers to fill
jobs that are currently going unfilled, because the large majority of Americans are over-qualified and are
unwilling to take these jobs. While 31% of foreign-born workers age 25 and over held a bachelor's
degree or more in 2005, many less educated immigrants come to the U.S. because there is a high demand for
such workers in important lower-skilled sectors of our economy.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, among the 20 occupations expected to experience the largest
job growth during the 2004 - 2014 period, 10 will require only short-term on-the-job training (not a
high school or college education). These include salespersons, food preparation and serving workers, cashiers,
janitors, waiters and waitresses, nursing aides, receptionists, security guards, office clerks, teacher assistants,
home health aides, personal and home care aides, truck drivers, and groundskeepers. Overall, 45%
of total job openings in the 2004 - 2014 period are expected to be filled by workers who have a high school
diploma or less education. Given that native-bom workers are more likely than immigrants to have a high
school diploma, vocational training, or several years of college -- and that the native-bom population
is rapidly growing older as the baby boomers reach retirement age and birthrates decline -- less-skilled
immigrants are needed to fill these positions.
Note 1: Excerpt from Making the Case for Comprehensive Immigration Reform by the American
Immigration Lawyer Association
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