Federal Agencies Combat Immigration Services Scams

The U.S. government will unveil a national initiative to combat immigration services scams this week. The Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are leading this effort. DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will announce the initiative on June 9. These immigration scams include the unauthorized practice of immigration law and deceptive practices.  These scams cause harm to our immigration system and victimize members of the immigrant community. Federal, state and local partners will come together to combat immigration services scams through three approaches: enforcement, education, and continued collaboration.

ICE criminally charges Los Angeles employers with hiring illegal aliens

On September 23, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement criminally charged an owner and a top executive with knowingly hiring undocumented aliens.    The charges carry a maximum penalty of six months in prison.

ICE claims that after ICE notified the employer that employees had used false “green cards” to obtain their jobs, the employee failed to terminate these individuals.

These arrests is less than two weeks after ICE arrested other employers the Los Angeles area on similar charges.

Please visit the “Worksite Enforcement” tab under the “Information” section on this website for further resouces on worksite enforcement.

USCIS Contractors Don’t Make the Prevailing Wage

The Department of Labor announced that it has recovered more than $1.4 million in back wages for 237 employees employed by a contractor for the US Department of Homeland Security’s US Citizenship and Immigration Services Vermont Service Center at various locations for failing to pay these workers the prevailing wage for their positions. 

When sponsoring individuals for H-1B status (the most common work-authorized work visa), the employer has to prove to the Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security’s USCIS agency that it is paying the prevailing wage for the position.  Therefore, I find it highly ironic that the USCIS will hold employers to a higher standard than it holds its own contractors!