ICE serves 180 audit notices in the South

USCIS recently announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be issuing Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 180 businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. ICE will be inspecting the hiring records of the selected businesses to determine whether the businesses are complying with employment laws and regulations.

Businesses are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for every employee they hire in the United States. In completing this form, businesses are obligated to confirm that an individual is eligible to work in the U.S.

While the Form I-9 has been a requirement for many years, inspections by ICE are part of USCIS's new initiative to ensure that U.S. businesses are employing a legal workforce. Under this strategy, ICE is focusing its resources on auditing and investigating businesses suspected of cultivating illegal workplaces by knowingly employing illegal workers. This initiative in the South is a direct result of this new strategy.

As stressed by our office previously, it is more important than ever that businesses are compliant when it comes to the completion of the Form I-9.  If you have any questions regarding the completion of the Form I-9 or other issues related to eligibility for employment in the U.S., please contact our office.

Szabo, Zelnick & Erickson

Inspections I-9 Audits