Immigration Compliance & Enforcement

In a newly challenging immigration enforcement environment, employers experience a greater risk for a long list of challenges, from I-9 audits to criminal prosecutions. Businesses must prepare for such activity by conducting reviews of polices and processes, audits, and training their employees.

HOW WE HELP

Seyfarth provides top-tier compliance and enforcement services to employers of all sizes. Our knowledgeable team guides businesses seeking to proactively align their workforce strategies to comply with the changing regulations in documenting their employees appropriately, as well as those reacting to enforcement and compliance activities by multiple federal government agencies.

Our practice encompasses the entire range of immigration compliance including I-9 audits, worksite visits, unexpected raids or other types of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement actions, Department of Justice (DOJ) Immigrant and Employee Right (IER) Section anti-discrimination reviews/investigations, government contract debarment actions, Labor Department employment-related immigration charges, US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), Fraud Detection and National Security site visits (FDNS) and E-Verify monitoring and compliance review, as well as criminal prosecutions.

With increasing scrutiny from federal agencies, the balance between immigration compliance and business productivity remains an ongoing challenge which this team uniquely helps solve by offering specialized compliance services paired with Six Sigma principles. Immigration compliance is an ongoing responsibility of employers and the recent focus on this area requires resources to minimize exposure and reduce risk. Seyfarth assists employers across industries with I-9 and E-Verify compliance, helping them to recognize and remediate mistakes in the process, as well as in practice. Seyfarth partners with employers to identify areas of non-compliance and then designs compliance programs to ensure that I-9 regulations are met in a manner consistent with the resources and needs of each business.

OUR SERVICES

Employment Eligibility Compliance Services. We offer legal services to businesses seeking conduct employment verification processes in a manner that ensures full compliance with applicable laws and policies, while helping ensure that such processes fit within budget and business processes.

• I-9 Policy Development, Compliance, and Training
• E-Verify Implementation, Monitoring and Compliance
• Electronic I-9 System Review
• Government Contractor I-9 Compliance and Risk Management
• I-9 and E-Verify Internal Auditing
• Unfair or Discriminatory Immigration-Related Employment Practices
• Social Security No–Match letter guidance

Government Audit and Investigations. Our team helps navigate agency demands for documents and provide targeted guidance for site visits. We offer an impressive track record in negotiating with government agencies regarding liability and fine mitigation, and in settling or litigating government charges.

Work-Visa Compliance Services. As federal policies and compliance activities tighten, businesses hiring employees on work visas need to take special care. Seyfarth ensures compliance with applicable laws and prepares for audit and site visits activity. We represent companies in:

• H-1B, L-1, EB-5 and Other Immigration-Benefits Site Visits/Audits
• F-1 and J-1 SEVIS Compliance matters.

Specialized Compliance Services. Our services extend to the full spectrum of business transactions and events that implicate immigration compliance. Whether talking about the M&A environment or immigrant investor (EB-5) funded projects, Seyfarth brings together a multi-disciplinary team ready to fully address all compliance needs.

• Mergers, Acquisitions, Restructurings and Reductions in Force
• EB-5 Immigrant Investment
• Emerging State Laws and Regulations

THE SEYFARTH EXPERIENCE

We work as a multi-disciplinary worksite compliance service since we are both a labor and employment and business immigration practice. Our attorneys have decades of experience in the area of immigration compliance and include a former director of USCIS and former federal prosecutor among its co-chairs. Through direct agency contacts, relationships on Capitol Hill, and extensive leadership in immigration law and workforce mobility organizations, we monitor and evaluate immigration policy and enforcement developments on an hourly basis. We counsel on best practices to hire and retain a global workforce in full compliance with relevant immigration laws and to provide creative guidance that addresses the impact of immigration-related worksite enforcement developments.