-----------------------------------------------------------------------DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITYBureau of Customs and Border ProtectionOral Declarations No Longer Satisfactory as Evidence of Citizenship and IdentityAGENCIES: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security.ACTION: Notice.-----------------------------------------------------------------------SUMMARY: U.S., Canadian and Bermudian citizens entering the United States at land or sea ports-of-entry must establish their identity and citizenship to the satisfaction of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer. Under current CBP procedures, such individuals may provide any proof of identity and citizenship. While most individuals provide documentary evidence of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, individuals may, depending on the circumstances, be admitted on an oral declaration. Accordingly, CBP is amending its field guidance procedures to instruct CBP officers that citizenship ordinarily may not be established using only an oral declaration.
This Notice informs the public that, effective January 31, 2008, all travelers will be expected to present documents proving citizenship, such as a birth certificate, and government-issued documents proving identity, such as a driver's license, when entering the United States through land and sea ports of entry.DATES: This notice is effective January 31, 2008.FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colleen Manaher, WHTI, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room 5.4-D, Washington, DC 20229, telephone number (202) 344-3003.SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: All travelers entering the United States are inspected by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer. To enter the United States in conformance with the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), U.S. citizens, Canadians and Bermudians must satisfy the CBP Officer of their identity and citizenship. See 8 CFR 235.1(b) and 235.1(f)(1). In accordance with current CBP operational procedures, a CBP Officer may accept documentary evidence of citizenship from U.S. citizens arriving at land or sea ports of entry from within the Western Hemisphere, such as a passport or birth certificate, or may accept an oral declaration if, depending upon the circumstances presented, such a declaration is deemed sufficient to prove citizenship. When assessing an assertion of citizenship, the CBP Officer may ask for additional identification and proof of citizenship until the CBP Officer is satisfied that the traveler seeking entry into the United States is a U.S. citizen. Similarly, certain nonimmigrant aliens who are citizens of Canada and Bermuda are exempt from presenting a passport when entering the United States as nonimmigrant visitors from countries in the Western Hemisphere at land or sea ports-of-entry. 8 CFR 212.1(a)(1) and (2). Like U.S. citizens, these travelers are required to satisfy the inspecting CBP officer of their identities and citizenship at the time of their applications for admission. 8 CFR 235.1(f)(1). In accordance with current CBP operational procedures, a CBP Officer may accept documentary evidence of citizenship from Canadian and Bermudian citizens arriving from within the Western Hemisphere, such as a passport or birth certificate, or may, depending upon the circumstances presented, accept an oral declaration. CBP is now amending its field instructions to direct CBP Officers to no longer generally accept oral declarations as sufficient proof of citizenship and, instead, require documents that evidence identity and citizenship from U.S., Canadian, and Bermudian citizens entering the United States at land and sea ports-of-entry. Upon implementation, these changes in procedure will reduce the potential vulnerability posed by those who might falsely purport to be U.S., Canadian or Bermudian citizens trying to enter the United States by land or sea in reliance upon a mere oral declaration. Beginning on January 31, 2008, a person claiming U.S., Canadian, or Bermudian citizenship must establish that fact to the examining CBP Officer's satisfaction by presenting a citizenship document such as a birth certificate as well as a government-issued photo identification document. CBP retains its authority to request additional documentation when warranted and to make appropriate individual exceptions. The instruction for CBP Officers to no longer generally accept oral declarations alone as satisfactory evidence of citizenship is a change in DHS and CBP internal operating procedures, and therefore is exempt from notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(b). On June 26, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of State (DOS) published a joint notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the final phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) and require persons entering the United States from Western Hemisphere countries to present a passport or other travel document as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security. See 72 FR 35088. In the NPRM, DHS also explained that, separate from WHTI, beginning January 31, 2008, CBP would no longer accept oral declarations alone as proof of citizenship or identity at land and sea border ports-of-entry. DHS received five comments in response to the NRPM discussion on the change of practice concerning oral declarations. Although, as discussed above, the amendment to CBP procedures does not require notice and comment rulemaking, DHS will address those comments in the WHTI final rule. In summary, those comments were concerned about increased traffic and resulting travel delays at land border ports-of-entry stemming from document requirements. CBP will rely on its operational experience in processing travelers entering the United States by land to ensure that these changes are implemented in a manner that will minimize delays while achieving the security benefit underlying WHTI. Accordingly, effective January 31, 2008, CBP Officers will no longer generally allow travelers claiming to be U.S., Canadian, or Bermudian citizens to establish citizenship by relying only on an oral declaration. Beginning on that date, all travelers, including those claiming to be U.S., Canadian, or Bermudian citizens arriving by land and sea will generally be expected to present some form of documentation to satisfy the CBP Officer of his or her identity and citizenship. For example, such documentation may include a government-issued photo identification document presented with a citizenship document, such as a birth certificate. Dated: December 14, 2007.Jayson P. Ahern, Acting Commissioner, Customs and Border Protection.[FR Doc. E7-24691 Filed 12-20-07; 8:45 am]
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Introduction of the Amended Form I-9 and the New Handbook for Employers
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [CIS No. 2419-07; DHS Docket No.: USCIS-2007-0044] RIN 1615-ZA57 Introduction of the Amended Form I-9 and the New Handbook for Employers
AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS.
ACTION: Notice.
---------------------------------------
SUMMARY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is issuing this Notice to introduce the newly amended Form I-9, ``Employment Eligibility Verification.''
Employers are required to use the Form I-9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of newly hired employees. The amended Form I-9 contains an updated list of acceptable identity and employment authorization documents that reflect the current regulations. As of November 7, 2007, the amended Form I-9 is the only valid version of the form. The Department of Homeland Security will not seek penalties against an employer for using a previous version of the Form I-9 on or before December 26, 2007.
DATES: This Notice is effective November 26, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Francis, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Verification Division, 470-490 L'Enfant Plaza East, SW., Suite 8206, Washington, DC 20024; E-mail:
employer.pilots@dhs.gov; Telephone: 1- 888-464-4218.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), Public Law 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009 (Sept. 30, 1996), amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to reduce the number of documents that an employer may accept from newly hired employees when verifying their identity and employment eligibility (i.e., authorization) as required by law. IIRIRA section 412(a) (amending INA sec. 274A(b)(1), 8 U.S.C.
1324a(b)(1)). On September 30, 1997, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) published an interim rule, ``Interim Designation of Acceptable Documents for Employment Verification,'' implementing those amendments. See
62 FR 51001. However, INS did not concurrently amend the Form I-9, ``Employment Eligibility Verification,'' that employers must use to conduct the required verification to reflect the changes made by the interim rule.
As a result, the Form I-9(Rev. 05-31-05) contained an outdated list of acceptable documents.
In the supplementary information accompanying the 1997 interim rule, the INS stated that it planned to issue a new Form I-9 in the context of a broader final rulemaking. While U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which now maintains the Form I-9, still intends to pursue a broader rulemaking, given the long passage of time since the interim rule, allowing an outdated Form I-9 to remain in use has become untenable. Therefore, USCIS has amended the Form I-9 document list to be consistent with the regulations. On November 7, 2007, USCIS posted the amended Form I-9 on its Web site, at http://www.uscis.gov. The amended Form I-9 has a revision date of June 5, 2007, which is printed as ``(Rev. 06/05/07)N'' on the lower right corner of the form. As of November 7, 2007, this is the only valid version of the form.
This Notice introduces the newly amended Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N and instructs employers on its use.
II. Changes to Form I-9
A. List A--Revised
Because the 1997 interim rule was limited to Form I-9 List A documents, the amended Form I-9 reflects changes to the documents listed under List A only.
List A documents are those that evidence both an individual's identity and employment eligibility. The amended Form I-9 no longer lists the following as List A documents: (1) The Certificate of United States Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561); (2) the Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570); (3) the
Form I- 151, a long out-of-date version of the Alien Registration Receipt Card (``green card''); (4) the Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327); and
(5) the
Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form 1-571).
The amended Form I-9 retains four types of acceptable List A documents: (1) The U.S. Passport (unexpired or expired); (2) the Permanent Resident Card or
Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I- 551); (3) an unexpired foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp; and (4) an unexpired Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I-766, I-688, I-688A, I-688B). All of these acceptable List A documents were carried over from the previous Form I-9, with the exception of the Form I-766, which is a new addition to List A. The amended Form I-9 also modifies one acceptable List A document. The List A document entitled, ``unexpired foreign passport with an attached Form I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization,''
has been replaced by ``an unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94, bearing the same name as the passport and containing an endorsement of the alien's nonimmigrant status, if that status authorizes the alien to work for the employer.''
USCIS also has amended the order and organization of List A to track the regulations more directly. For example, the various Employment Authorization
Documents are listed together as one category, and the unexpired foreign passport with temporary I-551 stamp is a separate entry from the unexpired passport with Form I-94 indicating an employer-specific work-authorized nonimmigrant status.
This updating of List A on the Form I-9 should help streamline the hiring process by providing employers with a better means of conforming their document acceptance practices with the requirements of the law. List A on the newly amended Form I-9 has been the regulatory List A since 1997, and, therefore, employers should not have been accepting documents not included in the regulatory list.
Given the discrepancy between the Form I-9 and the regulations, however, the INS and, subsequently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) withheld enforcement of civil money penalties for violations associated with the changes made by the 1997 interim rule as a temporary transitional measure.
62 FR at
51002. With an amended Form I- 9 now available that includes the correct List A, that policy is no longer necessary. Therefore, DHS has determined that the non-enforcement policy will cease as of December 26, 2007.
B. Other Changes
The amended Form I-9 now instructs employees that providing their Social Security number in Section 1 of the form is voluntary, pursuant to section 7 of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a note). However, employees must provide their Social Security number in section 1 of the form if their employer participates in E-Verify (the employment eligibility verification program formerly known as Basic Pilot or EEV), as provided by section 403(a)(1)(A) of IIRIRA.
Moreover,
for employees who present their Social Security account number card to their employer as evidence that they are authorized to work in the United States, the employer must record the Social Security Account number in section 2 of the Form I-9.
The amended Form I-9 also includes various nonsubstantive changes to the organization and content of the form instructions to be more consistent with
standard USCIS branding practices, such as including a clarification that there is no filing fee associated with the Form I-9.
III. Use of the Amended Form I-9
As of November 7, 2007, the Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N is the only version of the form that is valid for use. DHS recognizes that employers should be afforded a period of time to transition to the amended Form I-9. Therefore, DHS will not seek penalties against an employer for using a previous version of the Form I-9 on or before December 26, 2007. After December 26, 2007, employers who fail to use Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N may be subject to all applicable penalties under section 274A of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324a, as enforced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Note that employers do not need to complete the amended Form I-9 for current employees for whom there is already a properly completed Form I-9 on file.
Indeed, unnecessary verification may violate the INA's anti-discrimination provision, section 274B of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324b, which is enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices. However, employers must use Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N for any reverification of employment authorization conducted on or after December 26, 2007. Reverification is required when the Form I-9 indicates that the employee's work authorization will expire. To reverify, employers must examine acceptable Form I-9 documents evidencing that the employee remains authorized to work. See 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(vii).
IV. Obtaining Forms I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N
Employers may access the amended Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N online at http://www.uscis.gov. In addition, a newly revised ``Handbook for Employers,
Instructions for Completing the Form I-9, (M-274)'' is available online at http://www.uscis.gov. Because of its length, the revised M-274 will not be reprinted in the Federal Register. To order USCIS forms, call our toll-free number at 1-800-870-3676. The public can get USCIS forms and information on immigration laws, regulations and procedures by telephoning our National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.
A Spanish-language version of the amended Form I-9 is available at http://www.uscis.gov for use in Puerto Rico only. The Spanish-language Form
I-9 (Rev.
06/05/07)N is valid as of November 7, 2007. This updated Spanish-language version of the Form I-9 supersedes all previous versions. Employers in Puerto Rico who continue to use previous editions of the Form I-9 in English or Spanish after December 26, 2007 may be subject to fines and penalties.
Dated: November 16, 2007.
Emilio T. Gonzalez,
Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [CIS No. 2419-07; DHS Docket No.: USCIS-2007-0044] RIN 1615-ZA57 Introduction of the Amended Form I-9 and the New Handbook for Employers
AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS.
ACTION: Notice.
---------------------------------------
SUMMARY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is issuing this Notice to introduce the newly amended Form I-9, ``Employment Eligibility Verification.''
Employers are required to use the Form I-9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of newly hired employees. The amended Form I-9 contains an updated list of acceptable identity and employment authorization documents that reflect the current regulations. As of November 7, 2007, the amended Form I-9 is the only valid version of the form. The Department of Homeland Security will not seek penalties against an employer for using a previous version of the Form I-9 on or before December 26, 2007.
DATES: This Notice is effective November 26, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Francis, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Verification Division, 470-490 L'Enfant Plaza East, SW., Suite 8206, Washington, DC 20024; E-mail:
employer.pilots@dhs.gov; Telephone: 1- 888-464-4218.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), Public Law 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009 (Sept. 30, 1996), amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to reduce the number of documents that an employer may accept from newly hired employees when verifying their identity and employment eligibility (i.e., authorization) as required by law. IIRIRA section 412(a) (amending INA sec. 274A(b)(1), 8 U.S.C.
1324a(b)(1)). On September 30, 1997, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) published an interim rule, ``Interim Designation of Acceptable Documents for Employment Verification,'' implementing those amendments. See
62 FR 51001. However, INS did not concurrently amend the Form I-9, ``Employment Eligibility Verification,'' that employers must use to conduct the required verification to reflect the changes made by the interim rule.
As a result, the Form I-9(Rev. 05-31-05) contained an outdated list of acceptable documents.
In the supplementary information accompanying the 1997 interim rule, the INS stated that it planned to issue a new Form I-9 in the context of a broader final rulemaking. While U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which now maintains the Form I-9, still intends to pursue a broader rulemaking, given the long passage of time since the interim rule, allowing an outdated Form I-9 to remain in use has become untenable. Therefore, USCIS has amended the Form I-9 document list to be consistent with the regulations. On November 7, 2007, USCIS posted the amended Form I-9 on its Web site, at http://www.uscis.gov. The amended Form I-9 has a revision date of June 5, 2007, which is printed as ``(Rev. 06/05/07)N'' on the lower right corner of the form. As of November 7, 2007, this is the only valid version of the form.
This Notice introduces the newly amended Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N and instructs employers on its use.
II. Changes to Form I-9
A. List A--Revised
Because the 1997 interim rule was limited to Form I-9 List A documents, the amended Form I-9 reflects changes to the documents listed under List A only.
List A documents are those that evidence both an individual's identity and employment eligibility. The amended Form I-9 no longer lists the following as List A documents: (1) The Certificate of United States Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561); (2) the Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570); (3) the
Form I- 151, a long out-of-date version of the Alien Registration Receipt Card (``green card''); (4) the Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327); and
(5) the
Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form 1-571).
The amended Form I-9 retains four types of acceptable List A documents: (1) The U.S. Passport (unexpired or expired); (2) the Permanent Resident Card or
Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I- 551); (3) an unexpired foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp; and (4) an unexpired Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I-766, I-688, I-688A, I-688B). All of these acceptable List A documents were carried over from the previous Form I-9, with the exception of the Form I-766, which is a new addition to List A. The amended Form I-9 also modifies one acceptable List A document. The List A document entitled, ``unexpired foreign passport with an attached Form I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization,''
has been replaced by ``an unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94, bearing the same name as the passport and containing an endorsement of the alien's nonimmigrant status, if that status authorizes the alien to work for the employer.''
USCIS also has amended the order and organization of List A to track the regulations more directly. For example, the various Employment Authorization
Documents are listed together as one category, and the unexpired foreign passport with temporary I-551 stamp is a separate entry from the unexpired passport with Form I-94 indicating an employer-specific work-authorized nonimmigrant status.
This updating of List A on the Form I-9 should help streamline the hiring process by providing employers with a better means of conforming their document acceptance practices with the requirements of the law. List A on the newly amended Form I-9 has been the regulatory List A since 1997, and, therefore, employers should not have been accepting documents not included in the regulatory list.
Given the discrepancy between the Form I-9 and the regulations, however, the INS and, subsequently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) withheld enforcement of civil money penalties for violations associated with the changes made by the 1997 interim rule as a temporary transitional measure.
62 FR at
51002. With an amended Form I- 9 now available that includes the correct List A, that policy is no longer necessary. Therefore, DHS has determined that the non-enforcement policy will cease as of December 26, 2007.
B. Other Changes
The amended Form I-9 now instructs employees that providing their Social Security number in Section 1 of the form is voluntary, pursuant to section 7 of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a note). However, employees must provide their Social Security number in section 1 of the form if their employer participates in E-Verify (the employment eligibility verification program formerly known as Basic Pilot or EEV), as provided by section 403(a)(1)(A) of IIRIRA.
Moreover,
for employees who present their Social Security account number card to their employer as evidence that they are authorized to work in the United States, the employer must record the Social Security Account number in section 2 of the Form I-9.
The amended Form I-9 also includes various nonsubstantive changes to the organization and content of the form instructions to be more consistent with
standard USCIS branding practices, such as including a clarification that there is no filing fee associated with the Form I-9.
III. Use of the Amended Form I-9
As of November 7, 2007, the Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N is the only version of the form that is valid for use. DHS recognizes that employers should be afforded a period of time to transition to the amended Form I-9. Therefore, DHS will not seek penalties against an employer for using a previous version of the Form I-9 on or before December 26, 2007. After December 26, 2007, employers who fail to use Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N may be subject to all applicable penalties under section 274A of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324a, as enforced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Note that employers do not need to complete the amended Form I-9 for current employees for whom there is already a properly completed Form I-9 on file.
Indeed, unnecessary verification may violate the INA's anti-discrimination provision, section 274B of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324b, which is enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices. However, employers must use Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N for any reverification of employment authorization conducted on or after December 26, 2007. Reverification is required when the Form I-9 indicates that the employee's work authorization will expire. To reverify, employers must examine acceptable Form I-9 documents evidencing that the employee remains authorized to work. See 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(vii).
IV. Obtaining Forms I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N
Employers may access the amended Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N online at http://www.uscis.gov. In addition, a newly revised ``Handbook for Employers,
Instructions for Completing the Form I-9, (M-274)'' is available online at http://www.uscis.gov. Because of its length, the revised M-274 will not be reprinted in the Federal Register. To order USCIS forms, call our toll-free number at 1-800-870-3676. The public can get USCIS forms and information on immigration laws, regulations and procedures by telephoning our National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.
A Spanish-language version of the amended Form I-9 is available at http://www.uscis.gov for use in Puerto Rico only. The Spanish-language Form
I-9 (Rev.
06/05/07)N is valid as of November 7, 2007. This updated Spanish-language version of the Form I-9 supersedes all previous versions. Employers in Puerto Rico who continue to use previous editions of the Form I-9 in English or Spanish after December 26, 2007 may be subject to fines and penalties.
Dated: November 16, 2007.
Emilio T. Gonzalez,
Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Travelers Reminded of New Document Requirements Beginning January 31, 2008
For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryContact: 202-282-8010Department of State: 202-647-2492
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) remind the traveling public that as of Jan. 31, 2008, all adult travelers will be required to present proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, and proof of identity, such as a driver's license, when entering the United States through land and sea ports of entry. DHS will be issuing a notice in the Federal Register formally announcing the change.
This change is a necessary step to prepare travelers and ease the transition to the future requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). WHTI proposes to establish documentation requirements for travelers entering the United States who were previously exempt, including citizens of the U.S., Canada, and Bermuda. As recommended by the 9/11 Commission, Congress enacted WHTI in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. WHTI will result in both enhanced security and increased facilitation across the border once implemented. During this transition, DHS and the Department of State are working diligently to minimize the impact on legitimate trade and travel.
Currently, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers may accept oral declarations of citizenship from U.S. and Canadian citizens seeking entry into the United States through a land or sea border. However, as of January 31, 2008:
Oral declarations of citizenship alone will no longer be accepted. U.S. and Canadian citizens ages 19 and older will need to present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license, along with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or naturalization certificate. Children ages 18 and under will only be required to present proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. Passports and trusted traveler program cards - NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST - will continue to be accepted for cross-border travel. All existing nonimmigrant visa and passport requirements will remain in effect and will not be altered by this change.
DOS reminds the public that the current turnaround time for a passport is four to six weeks, so Americans planning international travel may wish to apply now. For information on obtaining a U.S. Passport visit www.travel.state.gov or call 1-877-487-2778. Specific documentation requirements for land, sea and air travel may be found at www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/ready_set_go/. To learn more about NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST, visit www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/trusted_traveler/.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) remind the traveling public that as of Jan. 31, 2008, all adult travelers will be required to present proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, and proof of identity, such as a driver's license, when entering the United States through land and sea ports of entry. DHS will be issuing a notice in the Federal Register formally announcing the change.
This change is a necessary step to prepare travelers and ease the transition to the future requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). WHTI proposes to establish documentation requirements for travelers entering the United States who were previously exempt, including citizens of the U.S., Canada, and Bermuda. As recommended by the 9/11 Commission, Congress enacted WHTI in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. WHTI will result in both enhanced security and increased facilitation across the border once implemented. During this transition, DHS and the Department of State are working diligently to minimize the impact on legitimate trade and travel.
Currently, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers may accept oral declarations of citizenship from U.S. and Canadian citizens seeking entry into the United States through a land or sea border. However, as of January 31, 2008:
Oral declarations of citizenship alone will no longer be accepted. U.S. and Canadian citizens ages 19 and older will need to present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license, along with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or naturalization certificate. Children ages 18 and under will only be required to present proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. Passports and trusted traveler program cards - NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST - will continue to be accepted for cross-border travel. All existing nonimmigrant visa and passport requirements will remain in effect and will not be altered by this change.
DOS reminds the public that the current turnaround time for a passport is four to six weeks, so Americans planning international travel may wish to apply now. For information on obtaining a U.S. Passport visit www.travel.state.gov or call 1-877-487-2778. Specific documentation requirements for land, sea and air travel may be found at www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/ready_set_go/. To learn more about NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST, visit www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/trusted_traveler/.
Surge Brings New Immigration Backlog
By JULIA PRESTONThe New York TimesNovember 23, 2007
Immigration authorities are swamped in new bureaucratic backlogs resulting from an unanticipated flood last summer of applications for citizenship and for residence visas, officials said.
In July and August alone, the federal Citizenship and Immigration Services agency received 2.5 million applications, including petitions for naturalization as well as for the entire range of immigrant visas. That was more than double the total applications it received in the same two months in 2006, said a spokesman, Bill Wright.
In the 2007 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, the agency received 1.4 million petitions from legal immigrants to become United States citizens, about double the number of naturalization petitions in the 2006 fiscal year, Mr. Wright said.
The surge began after Jan. 31 when the immigration agency announced fee increases averaging 66 percent for most applications, official figures show. The increases went into effect July 30. The contentious tenor of the immigration debate also prompted legal immigrants to apply for citizenship. “We did our absolute best to foresee the surge we would have,” Mr. Wright said. “We certainly were surprised by such an immediate increase with such a volume.”
The deluge has been so great that the agency is struggling to send out notices acknowledging it has received the applications. According to a special Web page the agency set up for applicants, as of Nov. 16 the agency’s processing center in Texas is sending out receipts for naturalization petitions that arrived by July 26. The processing center in Vermont is just now acknowledging naturalization petitions that came in by July 30.
Also contributing to the surge are about 300,000 applications in July and August for legal permanent resident visas, commonly known as green cards, from highly skilled immigrants. The jump in applications for the employment-based green cards resulted from the resolution of a mix-up in June between Immigration and Citizenship Services and the State Department, which is responsible for making visas available. The agencies had first invited the applications, then said they would not be accepted. They then reversed course, agreeing to accept them.
Immigration officials said it could take more than a year to decide many of the recent applications.
The processing backlogs are different from the visa backlogs that have burdened the United States immigration system for years. Because of annual limits on all green cards, immigrants from some countries like Mexico and the Philippines often have to wait decades for visas to become available. Now the agency has fallen behind on the bureaucratic work of logging in applications and deciding whether to grant visas or allow immigrants to become United States citizens.
In addition to the fee increase, the rush of naturalization requests was also prompted by anti-immigrant language in the debate over immigration policy this year, lawyers and advocates for immigrants said. Also, the immigration authorities had announced they were preparing a new, more difficult test for aspiring citizens, which they unveiled in September.
“People are scared,” said Ignacio Donoso, an immigration lawyer at the Monty Partners firm in Houston. “And they want to avoid the fees, and they do not want to face a more demanding test. So you are going to have people running like mad to apply, yet the government doesn’t hire any more staff to handle it.”
Citizenship and Immigration Services is required by Congress to draw most of its operating budget from fees. When the agency head, Emilio T. Gonzalez, announced the fee increases in January, he pledged that the agency would become more efficient and reduce wait times for deciding applications. Fees for naturalization, for example, increased 66 percent, to $675 from $405.
The agency plans to use the higher revenues to hire 1,500 employees, an increase of about 10 percent over its current staff of 15,000, Mr. Wright said. For the time being, agency employees have volunteered to work overtime to help clear the backlog.
Much of the rush for naturalization came from legal Latino immigrants. Hispanic organizations, including the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, and Univision, the Spanish-language television network, led a nationwide naturalization campaign this year in which hundreds of thousands of longtime legal immigrants signed up to become citizens.
Immigration officials said they would work to complete naturalization petitions in time for new citizens to vote in the elections next November. They strongly denied that the delays had any partisan political motivation.
“We know what this issue is,” Mr. Wright said, but he cautioned there were limits to how much the agency could expedite its procedures.
“We are not going to sacrifice quality or security to speed up just to get the numbers,” he said.
Immigration authorities are swamped in new bureaucratic backlogs resulting from an unanticipated flood last summer of applications for citizenship and for residence visas, officials said.
In July and August alone, the federal Citizenship and Immigration Services agency received 2.5 million applications, including petitions for naturalization as well as for the entire range of immigrant visas. That was more than double the total applications it received in the same two months in 2006, said a spokesman, Bill Wright.
In the 2007 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, the agency received 1.4 million petitions from legal immigrants to become United States citizens, about double the number of naturalization petitions in the 2006 fiscal year, Mr. Wright said.
The surge began after Jan. 31 when the immigration agency announced fee increases averaging 66 percent for most applications, official figures show. The increases went into effect July 30. The contentious tenor of the immigration debate also prompted legal immigrants to apply for citizenship. “We did our absolute best to foresee the surge we would have,” Mr. Wright said. “We certainly were surprised by such an immediate increase with such a volume.”
The deluge has been so great that the agency is struggling to send out notices acknowledging it has received the applications. According to a special Web page the agency set up for applicants, as of Nov. 16 the agency’s processing center in Texas is sending out receipts for naturalization petitions that arrived by July 26. The processing center in Vermont is just now acknowledging naturalization petitions that came in by July 30.
Also contributing to the surge are about 300,000 applications in July and August for legal permanent resident visas, commonly known as green cards, from highly skilled immigrants. The jump in applications for the employment-based green cards resulted from the resolution of a mix-up in June between Immigration and Citizenship Services and the State Department, which is responsible for making visas available. The agencies had first invited the applications, then said they would not be accepted. They then reversed course, agreeing to accept them.
Immigration officials said it could take more than a year to decide many of the recent applications.
The processing backlogs are different from the visa backlogs that have burdened the United States immigration system for years. Because of annual limits on all green cards, immigrants from some countries like Mexico and the Philippines often have to wait decades for visas to become available. Now the agency has fallen behind on the bureaucratic work of logging in applications and deciding whether to grant visas or allow immigrants to become United States citizens.
In addition to the fee increase, the rush of naturalization requests was also prompted by anti-immigrant language in the debate over immigration policy this year, lawyers and advocates for immigrants said. Also, the immigration authorities had announced they were preparing a new, more difficult test for aspiring citizens, which they unveiled in September.
“People are scared,” said Ignacio Donoso, an immigration lawyer at the Monty Partners firm in Houston. “And they want to avoid the fees, and they do not want to face a more demanding test. So you are going to have people running like mad to apply, yet the government doesn’t hire any more staff to handle it.”
Citizenship and Immigration Services is required by Congress to draw most of its operating budget from fees. When the agency head, Emilio T. Gonzalez, announced the fee increases in January, he pledged that the agency would become more efficient and reduce wait times for deciding applications. Fees for naturalization, for example, increased 66 percent, to $675 from $405.
The agency plans to use the higher revenues to hire 1,500 employees, an increase of about 10 percent over its current staff of 15,000, Mr. Wright said. For the time being, agency employees have volunteered to work overtime to help clear the backlog.
Much of the rush for naturalization came from legal Latino immigrants. Hispanic organizations, including the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, and Univision, the Spanish-language television network, led a nationwide naturalization campaign this year in which hundreds of thousands of longtime legal immigrants signed up to become citizens.
Immigration officials said they would work to complete naturalization petitions in time for new citizens to vote in the elections next November. They strongly denied that the delays had any partisan political motivation.
“We know what this issue is,” Mr. Wright said, but he cautioned there were limits to how much the agency could expedite its procedures.
“We are not going to sacrifice quality or security to speed up just to get the numbers,” he said.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Lawrence J. Needle Speaks to Clemson Faculty
Mr. Needle will speak on current Immigration Topics on Wednesday, November 7.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Social Security Administration Issues “No Match” Rule
The Social Security Administration (SSA) issued a final rule effective September 14, 2007 regarding I-9 employment verification and the receipt of no match letters from the SSA. The employer sanctions provisions of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) govern the manner in which employers may be held liable for failing to complete, or improperly completing, an I-9 form for each employee hired. Similarly, employers may be held liable if the employer has either actual or constructive knowledge that a worker is not authorized for employment in the United States. In addition, however, IRCA includes penalties for citizenship and national origin discrimination and for those employers committing document abuse.
Most violations prosecuted by the government in the past have concerned paperwork violations. For example, an employer has always been required to accept documents such as driver’s licenses and social security cards at face value if those documents appeared genuine on their face. In other words, an employer could not refuse one of those documents if they appeared authentic without subjecting itself to potential claims of national origin or citizenship discrimination. Very few employers were ever subject to fines for actual knowledge that an employee was unauthorized to work.
Under the new regulations, however, the government now has an additional weapon at its disposal to demonstrate that an employer has “constructive knowledge” that an employee is not authorized to work in the United States. If an employer follows guidelines in the regulations, however, after receiving a “no match” letter from the SSA, the employer is provided a “safe harbor” defense should the government later seek to charge the employer with constructive knowledge that an employee has no valid working status in the United States.
According to the government’s website, an employer must take a number of steps in the event it receives a no match letter and apply all such steps equally with respect to any of its employees. Because the government recognizes that the social security records are not infallible, the immigration service first requires an employer to check for clerical errors within 30 days to ensure that the no match result was not the fault of a clerical error on the part of the employer. If this does not resolve the problem, the employer must then request the employee to confirm whether or not the employer’s records are accurate. An employer may ask the employee to resolve any discrepancy with the Social Security Administration, but in no event may the employee fail to resolve the matter with the SSA within 90 days of the employer’s receipt of the SSA letter.
If an employer is actually able to successfully resolve the “no match” within 90 days, the employer should ensure that the Social Security Administration has corrected its own records by using the social security number verification service and also keep a copy of the date and time of verification. The verification service can be found at www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/SSNV-htm. The telephone number is 1-800-772-6270.
The Department of Homeland Security indicates that, if none of these measures resolve the issue within 90 days of receipt of the no match letter, the employee must complete within three days a new I-9 form with additional documentation verifying the employee’s work authorization. However, the employee may not utilize any document containing the prior social security number in dispute. Furthermore, the employee is required to provide a photograph establishing his/her identity.
If the new I-9 cannot be completed within three days after 90 days of receipt of the no match letter, the employer must terminate the employee. Otherwise, the employer risks civil, and even potential criminal, liability for continuing to hire an unlawful worker. If the employer continues to hire such workers, the employer will be deemed to have constructive knowledge of an employee’s unauthorized status. However, employers should not terminate employees without first attempting to resolve the no match letter, or treat certain employees differently from other employees, in order to avoid any potential charge of employment discrimination.
As a result of these regulations, there has been a genuine uproar from the business community, as well as the AFL-CIO, other unions, etc. complaining that enforcement of these regulations could be tremendously disruptive to the economy and could easily lead to the termination of employees who actually do have appropriate work authorization but which cannot be verified due to inadequate or incomplete records from the SSA. Just recently, a federal district court judge in California issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing regulations at least until October 1, 2007, when a separate federal judge will consider whether or not to grant a permanent injunction.
Advocates for different groups have argued, among other things, that the no-match rules could be used as a pretext to fire employees if they report a wage claim, or workplace hazard, or if they get injured on the job. Others have claimed that both the DHS and SSA have overstepped their constitutional bounds in issuing the regulations, claiming that the DHS and SSA cannot use wage and tax data in order to enforce immigration law. Others have taken a more practical approach in arguing that SSA records are sometimes incomplete or plain inaccurate which could lead to employers dismissing employees who actually have appropriate work authorization. These scenarios could potentially lead to discrimination against those employees who are terminated because they appear to be foreign if employers otherwise fear being slapped with civil, or even potential criminal, sanctions. Unfortunately, in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform, businesses face heightened scrutiny and even greater responsibilities each time they receive a no match letter.
Most violations prosecuted by the government in the past have concerned paperwork violations. For example, an employer has always been required to accept documents such as driver’s licenses and social security cards at face value if those documents appeared genuine on their face. In other words, an employer could not refuse one of those documents if they appeared authentic without subjecting itself to potential claims of national origin or citizenship discrimination. Very few employers were ever subject to fines for actual knowledge that an employee was unauthorized to work.
Under the new regulations, however, the government now has an additional weapon at its disposal to demonstrate that an employer has “constructive knowledge” that an employee is not authorized to work in the United States. If an employer follows guidelines in the regulations, however, after receiving a “no match” letter from the SSA, the employer is provided a “safe harbor” defense should the government later seek to charge the employer with constructive knowledge that an employee has no valid working status in the United States.
According to the government’s website, an employer must take a number of steps in the event it receives a no match letter and apply all such steps equally with respect to any of its employees. Because the government recognizes that the social security records are not infallible, the immigration service first requires an employer to check for clerical errors within 30 days to ensure that the no match result was not the fault of a clerical error on the part of the employer. If this does not resolve the problem, the employer must then request the employee to confirm whether or not the employer’s records are accurate. An employer may ask the employee to resolve any discrepancy with the Social Security Administration, but in no event may the employee fail to resolve the matter with the SSA within 90 days of the employer’s receipt of the SSA letter.
If an employer is actually able to successfully resolve the “no match” within 90 days, the employer should ensure that the Social Security Administration has corrected its own records by using the social security number verification service and also keep a copy of the date and time of verification. The verification service can be found at www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/SSNV-htm. The telephone number is 1-800-772-6270.
The Department of Homeland Security indicates that, if none of these measures resolve the issue within 90 days of receipt of the no match letter, the employee must complete within three days a new I-9 form with additional documentation verifying the employee’s work authorization. However, the employee may not utilize any document containing the prior social security number in dispute. Furthermore, the employee is required to provide a photograph establishing his/her identity.
If the new I-9 cannot be completed within three days after 90 days of receipt of the no match letter, the employer must terminate the employee. Otherwise, the employer risks civil, and even potential criminal, liability for continuing to hire an unlawful worker. If the employer continues to hire such workers, the employer will be deemed to have constructive knowledge of an employee’s unauthorized status. However, employers should not terminate employees without first attempting to resolve the no match letter, or treat certain employees differently from other employees, in order to avoid any potential charge of employment discrimination.
As a result of these regulations, there has been a genuine uproar from the business community, as well as the AFL-CIO, other unions, etc. complaining that enforcement of these regulations could be tremendously disruptive to the economy and could easily lead to the termination of employees who actually do have appropriate work authorization but which cannot be verified due to inadequate or incomplete records from the SSA. Just recently, a federal district court judge in California issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing regulations at least until October 1, 2007, when a separate federal judge will consider whether or not to grant a permanent injunction.
Advocates for different groups have argued, among other things, that the no-match rules could be used as a pretext to fire employees if they report a wage claim, or workplace hazard, or if they get injured on the job. Others have claimed that both the DHS and SSA have overstepped their constitutional bounds in issuing the regulations, claiming that the DHS and SSA cannot use wage and tax data in order to enforce immigration law. Others have taken a more practical approach in arguing that SSA records are sometimes incomplete or plain inaccurate which could lead to employers dismissing employees who actually have appropriate work authorization. These scenarios could potentially lead to discrimination against those employees who are terminated because they appear to be foreign if employers otherwise fear being slapped with civil, or even potential criminal, sanctions. Unfortunately, in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform, businesses face heightened scrutiny and even greater responsibilities each time they receive a no match letter.
New Feature
Lawrence J. Needle is proud to announce the launch of a terrific new feature on the firm's website, The Immigrant Update. Visitors can access up to the minute information regarding immigration issues of interest. We are very proud of this new feature and encourage you to visit it frequently.
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