United States: US-VISIT Program Expanded to Include Lawful Permanent Residents

December 18, 2008 – Currently, foreign nationals with a nonimmigrant visa – i.e. B-1, H-1B and L-1 or those traveling without a visa as part of the Visa Waiver Program, are subject to US-VISIT requirements with certain limited exceptions. The requirements include providing fingerscans, photographs, or other biometric identifiers upon arrival at the United States. Effective January 18, 2009, lawful permanent residents ("Green Card holders") are also subject to US-VISIT requirements. Exceptions include Canadian citizens seeking short-term admission for business or pleasure under B visas and individuals traveling on A visa for diplomats, foreign government employees and families and G visa for representatives of international organizations and families, among others. US-VISIT stands for United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program.

USCIS Revises I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form

December 17, 2008 – The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new rule updating the list of acceptable documents for the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification process, along with changes to Form I-9 itself. This rule will go into effect on February 2, 2009, and the revised Form I-9 will be available on the USCIS website in the near future. An informational copy of the new Form I-9 is included in the Federal Register publication of the rule. To read the new rule, click here.

Under the new rule, expired documents will no longer be acceptable for employment verification. For example, an expired U.S. passport is not acceptable. The new rule also removes several documents that are no longer in circulation and adds new types of acceptable documents.

Employers may continue to use the current version of Form I-9 and the list of acceptable documents until February 1, 2009. Any Forms I-9 completed before February 2, 2009 will not need to be updated. However, if employers must re-verify the employment eligibility for any employee after February 2, 2009, the employer must use the new Form I-9 and the new list of acceptable documents.

USCIS has issued a Press Release and FAQ on the Rule.

New Visa Application Forms Required at Some Consulates

November 24, 2008 - Some US Consulates abroad are requiring the use of the DS-160 form. For Non-Immigrant Visas, the Consulates in Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey, Montreal, and Vancouver require the DS-160 online form. As of November 24, 2008, the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong also requires the use of the DS-160 form for petition based applicants (H, L, O, P, and Q visas).

Federal Investigation Results in Criminal Indictment of Agriprocessors, Inc. and its Management

November 24, 2008 – Agriprocessors, Inc., its former CEO, three company managers and a company human resources employee were all charged with federal immigration crimes in a 12-count indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court. The charges resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security. Charges include conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens for profit, harboring illegal aliens for profit, conspiring to commit document fraud, aiding and abetting document fraud, aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft, and bank fraud.

ESTA Authorization Required for All Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Countries

Reminder: Beginning January 12, 2009, all VWP users must obtain approval through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to traveling to the United States. For more information, please click here.

Reminder: Any passport issued on or after October 26, 2006 by a VWP country must be an e-passport for VWP travelers to be eligible to enter the United States without a visa. For more information, please click here.

Federal Contractors Required to Use E-Verify System

Reminder: Starting January 15, 2009, federal government contractors and subcontractors will be required to use the E-Verify system to verify their employees' employment eligibility in the United States.

This new rule requires federal contractors to use E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all persons hired during a contract term and to confirm the employment eligibility of federal contractors' current employees who perform services for the federal government in the United States.

A clause committing contractors to use E-Verify will be included in all federal contracts awarded after January 15, 2009 and will be inserted into the contracts already in existence on January 15, 2009. Contracts exempt from this rule include those for less than $100,000; those for commercially available off-the-shelf items; those lasting less than 120 days; those where all work is performed outside the United States; and subcontracts for less than $3,000.

Required federal contractors must use E-Verify for all new employees, who have completed the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9, and all existing employees who directly perform work under the federal government contract. Those who have an active federal agency HSPD-12 credential or who have been granted and hold an active U.S. Government security clearance for access to confidential, secret, or top secret information in accordance with the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual do not need to be verified.

Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Deadline Approaches

Reminder: Starting June 1, 2009, U.S. citizens will be required to present a government-approved document that denotes both citizenship and identity when entering the United States.

The U.S. Passport Book and the U.S. Passport Card are the premiere documents that denote both citizenship and identify. However, the U.S. Passport Card is only acceptable for use at land border crossings and sea ports of entry from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean region, and Bermuda and is not valid for international air travel. For a complete list of acceptable documents, please click here.

Buchalter Nemer recommends that applications for U.S. Passport Books and Cards be submitted now in order to meet the June 1, 2009 implementation date. For more information on passport application, please click here here.

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