Like it or not, Businesses need to conform to government regulations related to registration, licensing, permitting, reporting, taxes and much more. Documentation, renewal, aligning with new policy changes etc. can be overwhelming. Companies that hire global talent need to constantly create, maintain, and update immigration related compliance policies.
Many law firms work with employers to develop corporate policies regarding the sponsorship of its foreign national employees for temporary work visas such as H-1B or L-1, and permanent resident status, the timing of green card sponsorship, visa renewals, and repayment agreements.
Increased Scrutiny
The Trump era saw an increase in scrutiny from federal agencies. Companies need to maintain immigration compliance without it affecting business productivity. They realise it is an ongoing responsibility and need to invest in resources to minimize exposure and risk. While large companies may outsource compliance to attorney firms, smaller businesses may still be managed by a small in-house immigration team.
Immigration Compliance
Private & Public Access Files: Companies that employ H1B workers need to ensure that they are properly creating and maintaining their public access files (PAFs) to meet compliance requirements. This file must be created, within one working day of the LCA filing. It must be available for public inspection, as well as inspection by the DOL, either at the employer’s main place of business or the actual location of employment.
I-9 Forms: Federal law requires that every employer who recruits, refers for a fee, or hires an individual for employment in the U.S. must complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Form I-9 will help verify the employee’s identity and employment authorization. This form need not be submitted anywhere with the USCIS. It is for the employer to maintain it. Audit team may ask for these forms, for ICE (Immigration and custom enforcement)-signed by both parties within 3 days of joining.
FDNS Visits: Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) officers make visits to collect information as part of a compliance review. H-1B, L-1 petitions, among others are included under this program and may come under scrutiny anytime. Employers need to stay prepared for such visits by keeping all documentation and information relevant to the petition ready.
Of course, there are many law firms that take care of companies and beneficiaries from around the world on a wide range of immigration matters and visa needs, including compliance. However, there is way to manage compliance comprehensively and efficiently through the Imagility Platform.
Imagility
Imagility ensures that employer obligations are met, including public and private access file storage for beneficiaries, LCA posting and acknowledgment, I-9 forms, FDNS compliance, and internal audits. This allows companies to securely store and access confidential files and documents digitally, enable digital signatures, and get notifications and alerts, which improves process efficiency.
The Imagility Platform takes care of all compliance requirements and provisions for storage and viewing of public and private access files for every H-1B employee, along with I-9 forms.
- LCA Compliance: Availability of LCAs and posting acknowledgement
- Public Access File page lists LCA with all details – Case Number, SOC Code, SOC Job Title, Visa Type, Start & End dates Company & Status, number of positions requested etc. Related documents that can be viewed by a click of a button include LCA, Wage Determination, US Workforce notification and Withdrawal proof (if any).
- Private Access File page lists all Beneficiaries, Company, Visa, and Petition type details. Each file is a record of all petition details of a particular beneficiary. If a beneficiary has more than one petition in the system, it shows as multiple records.
- I-9 Forms can be filled by the employee and employer through the Imagility platform itself. They can be stored and accessed for future audits at any time.
- FDNS covers FDNS information along with keeping track of FDNS visits, with any pending action items.
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