Unannounced FDNS Site Visits
December 16th, 2009 by Brian D. Zuccaro
The government is changing its enforcement tactics and placing a greater emphasis on employers in the fight against unauthorized employment. While worksite raids targeting employees are down, audits and worksite visits targeting employers are up.
In July 2009, Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) notified 652 businesses that their records will be audited.
In November 2009, ICE notified 1,000 businesses that their records will be audited. ICE will continue to send out more NOIs in 2010 to employers in order to audit I-9 records.
One reason for this focus on employers is that immigration raids became increasingly controversial when children were separated from their parents. Another reason is that the current administration feels that targeting employers and executives is a more efficient way of combating unauthorized employment.
A memo released in April 2009 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) highlighted this recent change in worksite enforcement strategy from focusing on individuals to focusing on employers. The memo reads:
“Enforcement efforts focused on employers better target the root causes of illegal immigration. An effective strategy must do all of the following: 1) penalize employers who knowingly hire illegal workers: 2) deter employers who are tempted to hire illegal workers: and 3) encourage all employers to take advantage of well-crafted compliance tools.”
Additional recent evidence of this shift in strategy can be seen in the precipitous increase in worksite visits by CIS’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS). CIS recently started to conduct worksite visits of U.S. companies and other entities that employ foreign workers through H-1B and L-1 petitions. These worksite visits are carried out by CIS’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS).
The Vermont Service Center has informed the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that it recently transferred approximately 20,000 cases to the FDNS as part of its H-1B investigation program. If the California Service Center transfers the same amount of cases, the result is an astounding 40,000 H-1B cases that will be reviewed by the FDNS.
