Seyfarth Shaw Launches New Immigration Compliance Center

Contact:
Ivette Delgado, Senior Public Relations Associate
(212) 218-5273, idelgado@seyfarth.com

ATLANTA (October 27, 2011) — Seyfarth Shaw LLP is pleased to announce the launch of the firm’s Immigration Compliance Center (ICC). Led by attorneys Angelo Paparelli (Los Angeles and New York), James King and Nicole Kersey (Atlanta), as well as Dyann DelVecchio and Russell Swapp (Boston), the service provides turnkey immigration compliance solutions, initiating a “fix it and forget it” approach to reducing liability stemming from mistakes on I-9 forms.

Since the enactment in 1986 of the Immigration Control and Reform Act, all employers have been required to complete a Form I-9 (employment eligibility verification), and confirm the identity and legal right to work in the U.S. of every newly-hired employee. Each new hire must attest to his or her status as a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or worker with temporary employment permission and present original documentation that appears valid and relates to the individual.

In response to an increasing federal and state enforcement focus and government review of immigration compliance practices, as well as the uptick in identity theft and fraud, businesses of all sizes face mounting scrutiny and costly penalties for immigration violations.

"Employers can't wait for the government to knock on the door," said Angelo Paparelli, well known immigration author and Seyfarth partner, adding: "They must protect their businesses by ensuring that I-9s and immigration paperwork are properly reviewed for accuracy and correctly maintained. "

“Seyfarth Shaw’s depth and breadth in the employment and immigration law arena, along with its lead among national firms in Six Sigma and Lean services, primes the ICC for success. Clients can move forward with confidence knowing that their immigration hiring and record-keeping practices will no longer be vulnerable to present and future civil and criminal exposure,” said James King, Co-Chair of the firm’s Immigration practice.
 
"Many organizations attempt to limit liability through internal audits and training, which are typically incomplete and not as effective as the services provided by the ICC," said Nicole Kersey, the ICC's Managing Director. "Employers who give us a chance often find that they save money, preserve the attorney-client privilege and are more successful in limiting liability when they allow us to handle the audits instead of doing them in-house."

ICC provides fixed-fee pricing for a number of its service offerings, which include:

• Random and full I-9 audits
• I-9 error remediation
• I-9 completion and audit training
• Real-time, moment-of-hire I-9 audits and certifications 
• E-Verify counseling and implementation 
• Immigration corporate policy development 
• Electronic I-9 vendor selection and management 
• Government investigation preparedness planning 
• Hot-Line assistance with I-9, E-Verify and related employment authorization issues  
• Audits of H-1B (professional worker) cases and other compliance categories
• Defense of employers in government investigations and prosecutions

Seyfarth Shaw has over 750 attorneys located in 10 offices throughout the United States, including: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Sacramento, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., as well as internationally in London. Seyfarth Shaw provides a broad range of legal services in the areas of labor and employment, employee benefits, litigation, corporate and real estate. The firm’s clients include over 300 of the Fortune 500 companies, and our practice reflects virtually every industry and segment of the economy. For more information, please visit www.seyfarth.com .