Immigration Assist

Anyone seeking work in the United States , including US citizens and US nationals, must present proof of their work eligibility to their employer. Employers have a responsibility to verify, to the best of their ability, the legal status of their applicants. The standard for this evaluation is for the employer to exercise their best judgment and to either accept or reject the documents presented to them by a given applicant on “the face” of the documents’ authenticity.

Employers are protected from the consequences of a verification violation except in cases where the US government can show that an employer was aware of an employee’s illegal status at the time of hiring or employment. Laws surrounding eligibility verification give some benefit of the doubt to employers partially because undue scrutiny of an applicant’s documents could be interpreted as discriminatory towards immigrants.

It is possible to terminate an employee within three days of the start of their employment if they have not proven their eligibility. In an employer chooses to do this they must carry out this practice without discrimination. If an employee turns out to not possess employment eligibility, or if a document submitted as proof of legal work status is later found to be false, it is expected that the employer will fire the employee immediately.

Photocopied documents are not considered acceptable proof of legal work status, with the exception of a certified photocopy of a birth certificate. An I-9 form is required for every employee an employer hires (an employee is considered “hired” when they begin work). It is not necessary to complete this form for every applicant.

Finally, the US government maintains the Office of Business Liaison. This is a clearinghouse for information regarding all aspects of employing an immigrant, such as education, investment, and employment regulations; they operate a web site that can be reached by clicking this link: www.uscis.gov/…/employerinfo/oblhome.htm