Immigration reform remains a hot-button issue in Washington, D.C., meaning your company could face increasingly strict standards of due diligence when you hire employees who are in the United States on work Visas.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) have increased workplace enforcement efforts significantly, and some states and cities also are increasing efforts to enforce their own requirements.

At Lloyd Ward & Associates, we’ve witnessed the headaches that can be created by Visa issues as overwhelmed employers try to deal with them without the help of an attorney experienced in dealing with those kinds of challenges.

Employee Visa paperwork

Just a few of the paperwork requirements are:

• All employees are required to fill out an I-9 form within three days of being hired to prove their immigration status.
• All I-9 records must be kept for three years after an employee is hired and one year after termination.
• Records must be diligently maintained for auditing and reporting purposes.
• Records that can legally be destroyed should be on a regular basis.
• When sponsoring certain nonimmigrant employees, employers must file a Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the Department of Labor.

Work Visas serve an important role economically in the U.S., where many employers who require special talents in their businesses want to take advantage of overseas talent. The level of required paperwork is daunting, but expert legal assistance can save you time and a lot of aggravation.