A federal court determined DACA as unlawful on July 16, 2021. Thus, the government will not permit NEW applications of DACA but will allow existing DACA recipients to retain their grants and apply for renewal. The Immigration and Nationality Lawyers at the NPZ Law Group continue to monitor the developments in the DACA landscape for DACA recipients and DACA employers, and they work to determine resolutions for their clients concerning the same.
Reminders for DACA Employers and DACA Recipients:
• DACA recipients are authorized to work if they have current, unexpired Employment Authorization Documents (EADs).
• Existing DACA workers can renew their DACA EADs for now.
• DACA recipients are not obligated to inform employers they have DACA.
• In the coming days, USCIS will offer guidance for DACA recipients and requestors.
• Employers are not required to know if employees have DACA or take any action.
• It may violate federal law to terminate employees that are DACA recipients with EADs if it is based on national origin, immigration status, etc.
• Federal laws protect employees with DACA from employment discrimination based on factors, such as their national origin, immigration status, race, and citizenship.
Reminders for DACA Employers with regard to Hiring New Employees:
• Employers must not ask job applicants or employees for citizenship or immigration status information.
• DACA recipients are not required to inform employers of their immigration status.
• Due to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) rules to verify employees’ work authorization, employers must accept documentation that appears reasonably genuine and are not allowed to reject documents based on future expiration dates.
• Employers must not question an employee’s Form I-9 document’s validity based upon their citizenship, national origin, or immigration status.
• Employers must verify a job applicant’s authorization to work and identity and not immigration status.
Reminders on the Situations that Employers Must Reverify Work Authorization for Current Employees:
• The DHS rules are unchanged for existing DACA recipients or other employees.
• After verifying the employment eligibility for new employees, the DHS requires employers to examine employee’s additional documentation that determines if they have the legal right to work in limited circumstances, such as EAD expiration or when there’s an expiration date for employment authorization on Form I-9.
• It may violate federal law to ask employees for documentation about their citizenship, national origin, or immigration status when unnecessary.
• Employers are not required to audit or review their Forms I-9 (but to do so may be a “best practice”).
Reminders for Employers That Use E-Verify
• Employers that use E-Verify must consistently use it and follow the DHS rules, disregarding employees’ immigration status, citizenship, or national origin. Violation of these rules may result in the loss of access to E-Verify.
• Employers that use E-Verify cannot run current employees through E-Verify unless the employer is a government contractor with FAR provisions in the government contracts. Also, employers cannot run employees through E-Verify based on their DACA status or suspicions or assumptions about their national origin or immigration status.
If you have questions or require more information about how US Immigration and Nationality Laws, contact the NPZ Law Group. If you have more questions on how Immigration and Nationality Laws in the US may impact you and/or your family, get in touch with the lawyers specialized in US Immigration and Nationality laws at our firm. You can send us an email at info@visaserve.com or you can call us at 201-670-0006 (x104). In addition to that, you can find more information on our website www.visaserve.com