Businesses must obey rules, whatever that means

Date: Monday, October 30, 2006 3:03 PM

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1580 -- 10/30/2006 >>>>>

An AILA lawyer told an Indianapolis newspaper that employers should follow
the rules of the immigration game -- which could be expected from an
attorney who will make lots of money explaining to them what the rules are
and how to sidestep them. I have often said that any employer who breaks
the rules is an idiot because there are enough loopholes in the law to get
away with almost anything. That said, many employers do break the rules.

I constantly receive emails from techies who are having a tough time
finding jobs. This lawyer seems to think otherwise, and he has the inside
track on all sorts of good jobs, from engineering to roofing:

I get a lot of calls from tech-heavy businesses that hire foreign
nationals with computer experience. I also get a lot of calls from
folks who employ lower-wage workers, such as roofers, bricklayers,
construction crews, janitors and cleaners.

If you need a job, call this lawyer immediately and tell him you are an
American who is willing to work. Perhaps he can help you out.

http://www.binghammchale.com/pages/attorneys.asp?Action=GetOneAttorney&AttorneyID=80
Stephen L. Due
Phone: 317.968.5484
E-Mail: sdue@binghammchale.com

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(This website article accepts comments. So far mine hasn't been removed.)

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006610300339

October 30, 2006

Businesses must obey rules of employing immigrants

By Carolyn Duffy Marsan
Star correspondent
October 30, 2006

One of the hottest issues in the 2006 election has been our nation's
immigration policy.
Locally, immigration also has been top of mind for small-business owners,
since an April rally in Indianapolis attracted thousands of people seeking
to reform immigration laws.
The Indianapolis Star recently interviewed Stephen Due, an attorney with
Indianapolis law firm Bingham McHale, who is a member of the American
Immigration Lawyers Association and an expert in employment and immigration
law.

After four years in this specialty, Due said he still enjoys helping both
employers and employees in his law practice.

"You can never forget that you're dealing with people," he said.

"Many of them have come to this country seeking a better life for
themselves or their families. There's a lot of satisfaction knowing that
you've helped them stay here longer for work, to get a green card, or maybe
even to become a citizen."

Here are excerpts from our conversation about immigration issues facing
local small businesses:
Question: Which small businesses need to worry most about immigration
issues?

Answer: I get a lot of calls from tech-heavy businesses that hire foreign
nationals with computer experience. I also get a lot of calls from folks
who employ lower-wage workers, such as roofers, bricklayers, construction
crews, janitors and cleaners.
When the last census was done, it came out that we had 77,000 foreign-born
men and women living in Indianapolis.

Anybody doing business here is going to come across these people as
potential employees or as customers or as neighbors. It's important for
everybody to have a basic understanding of what issues foreign-born
nationals are facing.

Q: You hear sometimes about employers who get in trouble for hiring illegal
immigrants. How severe are the penalties?
A: They can be very severe.
It can be a civil penalty with dollar amounts that increase for each time
that you violate the employment act. For a first offense, a civil penalty
can range from $275 to $2,200 per person who is illegally employed.
There are also the criminal penalties, which are reserved for more serious
repeat offenders. You can face jail time of up to five years (depending on
a variety of factors).
The penalties should be enough to scare anyone away from doing it.
Q: What are the most common immigration issues facing local small
businesses?
A: Every time someone is hired, the company has to complete an I-9 form. I
get a lot of questions about what identification is acceptable.
I'm getting more calls about mismatch letters, which are sent out by the
Social Security Administration to let employers know that the Social
Security numbers they have reported to the Internal Revenue Service in the
course of doing payroll are not matching up with their records.
Another common issue is with H-1B visas, which allow a person with a
college degree and some specialized knowledge to work in the United States
for up to six years.
Indiana colleges are making strong efforts to get their students on-the-job
training. International students are permitted to work under their F-1
student visas. A lot of employers who hire these international students
want to continue employing them, and that requires an H-1B visa.
There are numerical caps on the number of H-1B visas awarded. The cap is
65,000 per government fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.
April 1 is the first day you can apply for an H-1B visa for the following
Oct. 1. This year, the cap of 65,000 H-1B visas was reached on May 26.
Q: What should small-business owners do about each of these issues?
A: With the I-9 forms, as long as the documents that the employee provides
look reasonable, you have to accept them. That's a well-settled legal area.
With the mismatch letters, it's really on a case-by-case basis what
companies should do. Receiving a mismatch letter is not a basis to fire an
employee, and doing so can get you in trouble with federal
antidiscrimination laws. The employer has some options but needs to talk to
a lawyer.
With the H-1B visas, employers need to plan ahead and get their paperwork
filed as close to April 1 as possible.
Q. What is the status of proposed congressional reforms to current
immigration laws?
A: A couple of things were passed.
A bill that would build a 700-mile fence with Mexico did pass. A separate
Defense bill was passed in October that would affect H-2B visas, which are
used for seasonal or temporary workers.
There is a cap on H-2B visas of 66,000 per federal fiscal year. The Save
Our Small and Seasonal Business Act of 2005 said that if you were here on
H-2B status and were needed again, you were not included in the cap. That
relief with H-2B visas expired in September 2006, but the Defense bill
extended it for another year.
Q. Where do local entrepreneurs stand on these proposed immigration
reforms?
A. What I'm hearing from my clients is that we need to get some relief from
these visa caps. It's unfair and unrealistic for an employer to be able to
plan out staffing needs so many months in advance.

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