New Machine-Readable Immigrant Visa Is Proof Of Employment Eligibility

IMMIGRANTS & EMPLOYMENT

IRCA Employment Verification and
Antidiscrimination Protections

NEW MACHINE-READABLE IMMIGRANT VISA IS PROOF OF EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 18, No. 5, August 9, 2004

An unexpired foreign passport with the new machine-readable immigrant visa (MRIV), which includes the statement, “upon endorsement serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent resident status for 1 year,” is acceptable for establishing a non–U.S. citizen’s eligibility to be employed in the United States, according to an Employer Information Bulletin issued July 26, 2004, by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Office of Business Liaison. Employers must now accept this new evidence of a newly hired worker’s lawful permanent residence status when the worker completes the I‑9 employment eligibility verification process.

As of June 28, 2004, each new MRIV issued by a U.S. embassy or consulate includes the new “temporary I‑551” language immediately below the photograph of the person to whom the visa is issued. When admitting a visa-bearer into the U.S. at a port of entry, a Dept. of Homeland Security officer “places an admission stamp on the upper portion of the MRIV, with part of the stamp overlapping the adjoining page (just above the bearer’s photograph),” according to the bulletin. For one year from the date of endorsement by the DHS officer, this stamped MRIV is valid as a document that, for purposes of completing the I‑9 employment eligibility verification form, establishes both the bearer’s identity and employment authorization (i.e., it is considered to be in the same class as the two other documents listed in item 4 of List A, which is on the reverse side of the I‑9 form).

A new hire who presents a foreign passport with an endorsed new MRIV within a year of its endorsement need not present any other document to establish his or her employment eligibility. Employers may not require a worker who chooses to present this document when completing the I‑9 process to present any other, since requiring workers to present specific documents or more documents than are legally required can be a form of discrimination that violates the Immigration and Nationality Act’s antidiscrimination provisions. INA § 274B(6), 8 USC § 1324b(a)(6).

The other two “List A, #4” documents that serve as temporary evidence of lawful permanent resident status are (1) an unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired temporary I-551 stamp, and (2) an unexpired foreign passport with an MRIV and an unexpired temporary I-551 stamp. On or before the date that the temporary I‑551 which a worker has presented expires, the worker’s employer is required to reverify that the worker continues to be employment-authorized.

A PDF copy of the bulletin discussed here is available at http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/employerinfo/EIB113.pdf.