Our April teleconference for employers and their agents addressed the interaction of permanent residents, or green card holders, of the United States with immigration law. Our attorneys answered the important questions to help attendees understand some of the rights, obligations, and benefits of permanent residents. New permanent residents, whether with employment- or family-based green cards, may be considering extensive travel outside the United States, eventually applying for citizenship or accepting a professional opportunity abroad. Led by Attorney Sheela Murthy, our attorneys explained the use of reentry permits, the requirements for becoming a U.S. citizen, and some best practices to ensure permanent residence is not only maintained, but that it also can be proven.

The topic of our May session in this teleconference series, specifically addressing the concerns of employers, enabling them to better help their employees going through the immigration process, addressed the H1B process, including: LCAs, wages, public access files, how employers must comply with rules and regulations, types of records that need to be made available and to whom, retention of records, relocating employees, events that can trigger investigations, and recommendations for successfully navigating active Department of Labor investigations.

Our August teleconference, provided an overview of the PERM labor certification process. This teleconference reviewed the standard procedures involved in filing a labor certification case, as well as recent case law developments.

Our October 07, 2009 teleconference continued the look at visits by officers from the USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) Office. Because of the interest in this important matter, attorneys from the Murthy Law Firm furthered their discussion of the increasing frequency of such visits to H1B employers, employers’ options in responding to such visits, what they should do if the officers ask to speak with employees, the authority of the FDNS officers, and the potential consequences of such visits, among other issues.

Our September 2, 2009 session in this teleconference series focused on visits by officers from the USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) Office. In this overview, attorneys from the Murthy Law Firm discussed the increasing frequency of such visits to H1B employers, employers’ options in responding to such visits, what to do if the officers want to speak with employees, the authority of the FDNS officers, and the potential consequences of such visits, among other issues.

The topic of this teleconference in our series for employers and their representatives will focus on the importance of and means to ensure compliance records are properly maintained. In this session, attorneys from the Murthy Law Firm will discuss some of the various types of records that must show an employer's compliance with U.S. immigration laws and the basic steps that companies must undertake to: document that their employees are authorized to work, maintain public access files for current and former employees in H1B status, and maintain "audit files" that support requests for labor certification as part of sponsoring employees for their green cards. These Murthy Law Firm attorneys will also discuss how increased government enforcement in these areas impacts your company, and the potential ways that "good housekeeping" can help your business stay focused on continued success.

This teleconference focused on issues related to delays in processing employment authorization documents (EADs). In this session, attorneys from the Murthy Law Firm discussed the need to track EAD expiration dates, the timelines for renewing EADs, steps for facilitating EAD issuance in 90 days, and options when a gap in EAD validity occurs. EADs are taking longer to process than in the past. This has resulted in an increasing number of employees who may not have EAD renewals in time. Our attorneys covered the steps employers should take to avoid breaks in their employees' authorization to work, as well as the considerations and requirements when there is a lapse in work authorization.

The topic of this teleconference in our series for employers and their representatives concerned the legal obligations and implications for employers when terminating foreign national employees. The session described the impact of terminations on nonimmigrant status as well as the green card process. Murthy Law Firm attorneys discussed strategies for addressing situations in which foreign national employees do not report to work as expected, how to handle the issue of layoffs with respect to the employer's labor condition application (LCA) obligations, and safeguarding the employer's ability to file immigrant petitions for other employees.

The topic of this teleconference in our series for employers and their representatives focused on the eligibility of employees for the "portability" provision under the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21), which allows employees to port their green card cases to their new employers, in certain situations. In this session, attorneys from the Murthy Law Firm discussed the eligibility criteria, focusing on the employer's perspective of the AC21 portability provision. Our attorneys also discussed the obligations and special considerations for both the original petitioners and the new employers of foreign nationals who port their cases to their new employment.

The topic of this teleconference in our series for employers and their representatives focused on determining the prevailing wage for H1B and PERM filings. In this session, attorneys from the Murthy Law Firm discussed the U.S. Department of Labor's prevailing wage determination guideline, different wage levels, various factors considered in determining prevailing wage, the employer's responsibilities relating to wage determination, and employer's obligation to pay the required wage. Our attorneys also discussed the process of obtaining prevailing wage determination through the National Processing Center (NPC).