USCIS Revises Form I-9

The following should be of interest to all our clients with employees in the United States:

USCIS has revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Employers may continue using Form I-9 with a revision date of 03/08/2013 N. through Jan. 21, 2017.  By Jan. 22, 2017, employers must use the revised form.

These are some of the changes in the new version:

• Employees only need to provide other last names used in Section 1, rather than all names used.
• The certification in Section 1 for certain foreign nationals takes less time to complete.
• There are additional spaces to enter multiple preparers and translators.
• There is a dedicated area to enter additional information that employers have been required to notate in the margins of the form.

Furthermore, it is now easier than ever to complete Form I-9 on a computer as the revised form includes many upgrades over the old format.

Employers should continue to follow the existing storage and retention rules for all of their previously completed Forms I-9. Read the USCIS News Release, and visit I-9 Central for more information.

USCIS Announces New Application and Petition Fees

Statue of Liberty

Martensen Wright has learned that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be increasing the filing fees for a number of applications and petitions effective December 23, 2016. Fees paid by the applicants and petitioners fund the USCIS work and fees will be increased by an average of 21 percent.

This may affect some of our immigration clients, especially those that are in the process of preparing applications or might be considering it.

Here is a link to the new fees: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/our-fees

The chart lists USCIS’ fees effective December 23, 2016. Applications and petitions postmarked or filed on or after that date must include these new fees in order for USCIS to process them.

Another Hurdle in Employment-based Applications for US Visas and Green Cards

Another Hurdle in Employment-based Applications for US Visas and Green Cards.
By: Olga Quinones, LL.M., Legal Assistant

Obtaining US work visas and employment-based green cards is a challenging process nowadays. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – a US government agency that processes many visa and green card applications – has become very restrictive in their review of the work visas and green card applications. This results in visa/green card processing delays and even denials. One of the recent developments is the addition of a web-based VIBE (Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises) tool. The USCIS introduced this new web-based tool to validate certain information about businesses and organizations that apply for work visas and employment-based green cards. For more information, please visit the USCIS VIBE page.

After numerous complaints from the immigration attorneys and companies regarding this new tool, the USCIS has published a New Streamlined Process for Submitting Information used in USCIS VIBE. You can find the description of this New Streamlined Process here.

VIBE may be a useful tool for the USCIS, but it is a hurdle for companies and immigration attorneys. VIBE allows the USCIS to crosscheck the company-related information contained in the visa/green card application against the information available from the Dun & Bradstreet report. Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) is a commercial database that provides information on businesses and corporations for use in credit decisions, B2B marketing and supply chain management. D&B can obtain company information from various sources and create a database without the company’s knowledge. If during the VIBE crosscheck the USCIS sees that some information is missing from the D&B database or if some information contradicts the information in the visa/green card application, the USCIS issues a Request for Evidence asking the company to provide the additional documentation showing the missing information or explaining the discrepancy. Such Requests for Evidence are issued even in cases where the application package submitted to the USCIS already included the official corporate documentation from the company showing the information required by the immigration regulations. Needless to say, these Requests for Evidence delay the visa/green card application process and place an additional burden on the company and the attorneys representing the company before the USCIS.

In order to minimize the risk of receiving a D&B-related Requests for Evidence, we advise our clients to update the company’s D&B record at least two weeks before the visa/green card application is submitted to the USCIS. In many cases we are able to update the D&B database on our clients’ behalf because our office provides corporate secretary services for the majority of our clients. We know exactly what information the USCIS is looking for, so we are in the best position to update the D&B record. This additional service saves our clients the time and effort of updating the D&B database themselves. Such D&B updates have become a necessary step in the employment-based visa and green card application process.

Business Visas and Green Cards

Setting up in the U.S.? Then you are investing capital, know-how, and your company’s reputation. Few companies trust that process to a stranger. Businesses entering the U.S. market for the first time almost invariably want trusted personnel at the helm or experienced technical support involved. To bring that support to the U.S., you will need visas and/or Green Cards.

Because Martensen Wright PC assists with your broad business goals – – from corporate formation to closing key transactions – – we are especially well placed to serve your business immigration needs. Your eligibility for a Treaty Investor (E-2) visa may hinge upon how you fund your start up, and at what levels. You need to know this up front. Whether or not management or key personnel may qualify for an L visa may well depend on the role the individual holds in the parent corporation and the new start up, along with their experience and education. You need to know this before you create positions or select personnel.

Over the years, our immigration professionals have handled hundreds of visa applications to the United States, and likewise have obtained permanent residency (Green Cards) for many clients who have decided to stay in the United States on a more permanent basis. Also, we have assisted U.S. businesses in having Americans stationed in Denmark on a temporary basis.

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