Immigration has been a hot topic ever since President Donald Trump was elected. New changes have put a focus on new and potential laws that will impact employers all over the country, including the update to the I-9 form and potential expansion of the E-Verify program.

The New I-9 Form

Federal law requires that American employers have new employees complete the I-9 form to verify employment eligibility to dissuade companies from hiring people not authorized to work in the U.S. A new version of the I-9 form went into effect earlier this year, so U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires that any employees hired after Jan. 21 must now fill out the latest version of the I-9 form within three days of their start date. Existing employees do not have to complete the new form.

This new version of the I-9 form also comes with an increase in penalties for employers who fail to use it. According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), those fines are almost double that of past penalties, while fines for unlawful employment of immigrant workers also received a major increase.

Mandatory E-Verify?

The electronic verification program, also known as E-Verify, allows businesses to determine if their employees are eligible to work in the U.S. The program has been mandatory for most businesses since it was introduced in 1996. That may be about to change. 

SHRM reports that E-Verify could become mandatory for all U.S. businesses. Trump’s proposed 2018 budget even set aside $15 million to help implement mandatory E-Verify programs. The current program still has some issues that will need to be fixed before implementation can go into full effect, but that mandatory E-Verify is closer than employers may have thought.

Prepare for the Future

As immigration reform continues to be a big topic in our nation’s capital, business owners need to prepare themselves. It can be hard to stay up to date on new legislation or government initiatives, which is why it can help to turn to an expert for help. 

As a Professional Employer Organization, we can keep you up to date on how immigration reform can affect your human resource functions. We are also an enrolled E-Verify agent and can help get you prepared for the future. Contact us today to learn more. 

When the Trump Administration took office back in January, most people believed that they were going to focus on three things:

1. The repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act
2. Tax cuts
3. Tightening the country’s borders as it pertained to immigration

We all know what happened with the repeal and replacement of the ACA. The Republicans have tried a couple of times, but simply do not have the votes to make it happen, even in their own party.

Anyone who has seen attempts at tax cuts over the last 30-plus years knows how challenging the passage of that can be.

That leaves immigration. There’s been a lot of squabbling about walls, travel bans, and the such, but some things seem to have gone under the radar.

How Changes in Immigration Regulations Can Affect Small Businesses

Through the use of an Executive Order, President Trump has authorized the hiring of some 10,000 new immigration officers. Depending on where you stand on the immigration issue, that could be a good thing or a bad thing. As a business owner, this means an increase in the likelihood of workplace raids or immigration audits by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Additionally, recent changes in immigration regulations have allowed for the extension of some foreign workers’ employment authorization. This creates a need for the re-verification of an employee’s immigrant status through an I-9 form.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released yet another new revision to the Form I-9 for employment eligibility verification. The revised Form I-9 became effective Sept. 18, 2017. If your company happens to be targeted for an audit or a raid, you will need to have your I-9 forms up to date.  

In a rare example of government agencies working well together, the Department of Homeland Security has increased the penalties for I-9 form violations by 96 percent. That means the range of fines is now between $216 to $2,156 PER I-9 FORM.

Find Out Where You Stand with the New I-9 Forms

If you’re concerned about your status and which form you need (Is the old one still valid? Do I need all new ones?), you can work with an attorney or an HR consultant. Another option is to consider bringing on a Professional Employer Organization, like GMS, who does employee file audits as part of its HR services. Contact GMS today to talk to one of our experts about compliance needs for new immigration regulations.