Richards, Brinley and Richards Law Group

Recently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released an article entitled Half a Million Companies Now Participate in E-Verify, to article in and of itself does not provide any information to immigrants or employers regarding immigration and/or employment/immigration related issues. However, the article did underscore and confirm that more and more employers are taking steps to protect themselves from the fines, sanctions and legal headaches which can come to them when they hire immigrants who are not legally able to work. The trend of employers verifying a potential workers ability to work only will increase, the ability of illegal immigrants to obtain real jobs will become increasingly difficult to find.

However, an immigrant who finds themselves in this predicament can take steps to make sure they do not lose out on a job because they are not legally able to work in this country. The US government grants permission to foreign workers to reside in the US under a variety of different statuses, each requiring a different type of vise application and hearing process.

For instance, whether one needs and immigrant (permanent), non-immigrant (temporary), or L-1 visa depends on the type of work the employee will be doing, the industry involved, the education and training required, and whether the company can complete an intra-company transfer. There are five different work-related visas (E-1 through E-5), with different standards for each one. In some cases, the foreign national must acquire a labor certificate petition. In any case, the national must either file an immigrant visa petition or undergo consular proceedings.

The immigrant who finds themselves struggling to find work can and will increase their chances of finding good jobs by ensuring they qualify to work under US immigration laws and rules. Richards & Godfrey, PC has helped many people obtain the status they need to work in the US legally, providing that the their needs and the needs of their families continue to be met. Obtaining legal status provides stability and consistency to the immigrants life.