This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Immigration: I Just Found Out that my Employee isn't Legal

Discussion:  An immigration attorney with over 30 years of experience discusses the penalties an employer can face for employing someone who is not authorized to work in the US.

 

We are beginning to see signs of spring.  People are hiring roofers, carpenters, landscapers, pool companies, etc. to start making the annual outside repairs to their properties. 

Find out what's happening in Brookfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

Max owns a landscaping company.  His master mason, Rigoberto, has worked for him for over 8 years.  Max just received notification from his payroll company that Rigoberto’s social security number is not valid.  Max calls Rigoberto into his office and learns that his valued employee is not legal in the US. 

Find out what's happening in Brookfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

Max is subject to Employer Sanctions, which means that Max’s business can be fined by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), if USCIS learns that Max is employing a person who is not authorized to work in the US.  USCIS can come and make a personal visit to Max’s job site or place of employment and request a copy of all the I-9 forms for all Max’s employees.  Max must complete an I-9 form for every employee hired after November 6, 1986, no later than the first day of employment, and Section 2 must be completed no later than 3 days after hire.  For information about the Form I-9, visit www.uscis.gov/I-9Central.

 

If Max continues to employ Rigoberto after learning that he is not authorized to work in the US, Max can face fines imposed by USCIS, called “employer sanctions”:

 

First Offense:  Up to $3,200.00 per person not authorized to work (plus up to $1,100.00 for I-9 failure)

2nd Offense:     Up to $6,500.00 per person not authorized to work (plus up to $1,100.00 for I-9 failure

3rd Offense:     Up to $16,000.00 per person no authorized to work (plus up to $1,100.00 for I-9 failure)

 

In addition, USCIS can charge the employer with Document Fraud, Document Abuse, Unlawful Discrimination and if USCIS determines that the employer is engaging in a pattern or practice of employing individuals not authorized to work in the US, criminal sanctions can be imposed against the employer in the amount of up to 6 months in jail.

 

Rigoberto can obtain a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which is free, but the TIN number does not give Rigoberto any authorization to work legally in the US.  A TIN number only allows Rigoberto to pay his taxes to the IRS, since anyone who works in the US (legally or otherwise) must pay taxes.

 

Max can look into whether or not it may be possible to help Rigoberto become legal in the US; either through a family relationship, an employer-sponsor case, a U-visa (victim of a crime in the US), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or Political Asylum to name a few of our immigration processes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?