On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations Act for the Department of Homeland Security and related agencies (Public Law 111-83). The final bill includes a three-year extension for four closely monitored immigration programs, including the voluntary E-Verify program, the Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) immigrant investor program, the non-minister religious worker program, and the "Conrad-30" program for state-authorized waivers of the J-1 home residence requirement. The law also includes a provision that permits the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to process the green card applications of certain immigrant spouses and other family members in the event their U.S. citizen sponsors should die during the process.
The re-authorization of the voluntary E-Verify program is of particular note. The E-Verify system is an electronic system used to confirm the employment authorization and Social Security number of new employees. Under a regulation that went into effect on September 8, 2009, certain Federal contractors and subcontractors are now required to use the E-Verify program for all new, and certain existing, employees. Much of the debate over the past two months has centered on whether the general E-Verify program – available to any and all employers, on a voluntary basis, for use at all or selected worksites – would be altered to reduce inconsistencies in the use of the E-Verify system between Federal contractors subject to the mandatory requirement and those employers participating in the voluntary program.
Since the voluntary program has been re-authorized for three years, it appears less likely that such issues will be addressed, barring litigation on the programs.
Proskauer represents the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other parties in litigation challenging the rule mandating use of E-Verify for Federal contractors (Chamber of Commerce of the United States of Am. v. Napolitano, 4th Cir., No. 09-2006, 9/9/09).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
