Employment Law: Understanding Proper Verifications When Hiring
The Verification Process
Form I-9
An Employment Eligibility Verification Form, also known as an I-9 form, is how employers verify whether individuals are eligible to work in the United States. Employers must ensure the proper completion of a Form I-9 for each individual hired—this includes both citizens and non-citizens. The employee must present his or her employer with acceptable documents of identity and employment authorization (typical documents include either a passport, or a combination of a driver’s license/state I.D., birth certificate, or social security card). Employers must retain the Form I-9 for three years after employment begins, or for one year after the employee is terminated, whichever is longer. The employer is not required to file the form with any specific agency. However, it must be available for inspection by authorized U.S. government officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, and Department of Justice upon request.
E-Verify
E-Verify is a voluntary internet-based system that verifies employees' data against government records. An employer takes the information typically provided on an employee’s Form I-9 and compares that information to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment eligibility. More employers are moving toward using E-Verify because it is online, free, and can verify records almost instantaneously.
Hiring Non-Citizen Employees
H1B Visas
An H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that is an exception to a non-citizen being legally employed within the United States. The basic requirements for a H1B visa are (1) a bachelor’s degree, (2) a job offer from a U.S. employer, and (3) a salary offered by a U.S. employer that meets market wage standards. The Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H) allows U.S. employers to recruit and employ foreign professionals in specialty occupations. The work-authorization provided by the H1B visa is strictly limited to employment by the sponsoring employer. The visa’s duration of stay is three years and can be extendable up to six years. Under certain circumstances, the visa can be extended in one-year increments with a maximum stay of ten years. If an employee quits or is terminated from the sponsoring employer, he or she must either (1) apply for, and be granted, a change of status to another non-immigrant status, (2) find another employer, or (3) leave the United States.
If you are an employer with questions regarding employment verifications, exceptions to hiring non-citizen workers, or other immigration/employment law concerns, post a short summary of your legal needs on www.legalserviceslink.com, and let the perfect attorney come to you!
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Posted - 01/29/2016
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