Your prospective business partner not only may never arrive for your meeting but may find himself barred from entering the U.S. for five years, the automatic consequence of removal. Thus, a temporary worker who has overstayed even inadvertently will not be able to return to the U.S. after a business trip abroad without reapplying to the U.S. Consulate in the alien's home country for a new visa, even where INS has granted an extension application in the meantime. If the overstay exceeds a year, the bar on readmission is ten years. It is important that employers closely monitor the status of alien employees to prevent the potentially disastrous consequences of expiration of legal status. Employer Liability Expanded Since 1986, when employment verification requirements and civil fines were introduced, employer liability has steadily expanded.
Employers can no longer simply sign petitions prepared by alien employees without risking liability.
Any new legislation enacted in the current anti-immigration political climate will probably increase the already substantial burdens of employers who must rely on foreign workers to compete. Labor certification is the process whereby the employer demonstrates to the DOL the unavailability of U.S. workers for the position being offered to the alien. The process involves blind ads monitored by the DOL and close scrutiny of the listed job requirements to assure that the job is not tailored to exclude U.S. workers. The DOL for years has been hostile to the labor certification process. The DOL considers the process unfair to U.S. workers who respond to ads not knowing that the employer has actually already selected a foreigner and that the ad is merely part of the immigration process.