Electronic Travel Authorization (ESTA) is Required of All Travelers Entering the United States Under the Visa Waiver Program

Electronic Travel Authorization (ESTA) is Required of All Travelers Entering the United States Under the Visa Waiver Program

ESTA

ESTA stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorization. ESTA is an online application to pre-screen travelers before they are allow to board an airplane or ship bound for the United States. Any person entering the United States under the visa waiver program is required to hold an approved ESTA Travel Authorization.

All travelers entering the United States (by air or sea) under the visa waiver program are required to hold a valid ESTA travel authorization. The purpose of ESTA is to allow DHS to pre-screen all Visa Waiver Travelers before they leave their respective countries. U.S.-bound travelers are recommended to apply for a Travel Authorization at least 72 hours prior to departure.

The Visa Waiver Program

The visa waiver program is a U.S. government program that enables citizens and nationals from the 35 Visa Waiver Countries to enter the United States for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa. The advantage of entering the United States under the visa waiver program is that you can travel to the United States on short notice without obtaining a visa. FAQs about the visa waiver program.

Eligibility to Apply for Admission Under the Visa Waiver Program 
You are eligible to apply for admission under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) if you:

•                Intend to enter the United States for 90 days or less for business, pleasure or transit;

•                Have a valid passport lawfully issued to you by a VWP country;

•                Have authorization to travel via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization;

•                Arrive via a VWP signatory carrier;

•                Have a return or onward ticket;

•                Travel may not terminate in contiguous territory or adjacent islands unless the traveler is a resident of one of those areas; and

•               Are a citizen or national of one of the VWP countries listed below:

•    Andorra	Iceland	Norway
•    Australia	Ireland	Portugal
•    Austria	Italy	San Marino
•    Belgium	Japan	Singapore
•    Brunei	Latvia	Slovakia
•    Czech Republic	Liechtenstein	Slovenia
•    Denmark	Lithuania	South Korea
•    Estonia	Luxembourg	Spain
•    Finland	Malta	Sweden
•    France	Monaco	Switzerland
•    Germany	Netherlands	United Kingdom
Hungary	New Zealand

ESTA Travel Authorization Process

The Department of Homeland Security and the United States Customs and Border Protection have provided a secure public Web site with an automated form for you, or a third party, to complete in order to apply for a travel authorization. Once you enter the required biographic and travel information on the secure Web site, your application is processed by the system to determine if you are eligible to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program without a visa. The system will provide you with an automated response, and prior to boarding, a carrier will electronically verify with the United States Customs and Border Protection that you have an approved travel authorization on file.

Travel Authorization Does Not Guarantee Admission to the United States

If your electronic travel authorization is approved, this approval establishes that you are eligible to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, but does not guarantee that you are admissible to the United States. Upon arrival in the United States you will be inspected by a Customs and Border Protection officer at a port of entry who may determine that you are inadmissible under the Visa Waiver Program or for any reason under United States law.

Travel Authorization is Valid for Two Years

Unless revoked, travel authorizations are valid for two years from the date of authorization, or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. The Authorization Approved screen displays your travel authorization expiration date.

Apply At Least 72 Hours Prior to Travel

Applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel to the United States. The Department of Homeland Security recommends that travel authorization applications be submitted at least 72 hours prior to travel. Unless revoked, travel authorizations are valid for two years from the date of authorization, or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. Currently there is no fee to apply for a travel authorization. However, there may be an application fee in the future.

If You Are Not Approved For ESTA Travel Authorization
If you receive a Travel Not Authorized response to your travel authorization application, but wish to continue with your travel plans, please visit the United States Department of State Web site at www.travel.state.gov for additional information about applying for a visa. The denial of a travel authorization only prohibits travel under the Visa Waiver Program and is not a determination of eligibility for a visa to travel to the United States.

  

If a Visa Waiver Program Applicant is Found to be Inadmissible
Travelers applying for admission to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program who are determined to be inadmissible to the United States will be denied admission and returned to their country of origin, or a third country from which the traveler holds a round-trip ticket, aboard the carrier on which the traveler arrived in the United States.

Gerald Goulder is a North Carolina immigration lawyer who practices exclusively immigration law for North Carolina clients and for clients throughout the United States, and the world because immigration law is a federal law practice not limited attorneys in a particular state.

Gerald Goulder has been a licensed attorney and counselor at law for 30 years. His practice is exclusively immigration, visa and citizenship law.  He has broad experience with family sponsored green cards, naturalization and citizenship, employer sponsored green cards, employment and work visas like H-1B visas and other nonimmigrant visas, and I-9 employment eligibility and employer sanctions laws.

His broad professional background includes working as a special state prosecutor, owning and operating a business, serving on boards of non-profit organizations, religious organizations and private corporations, and taking political leadership roles.  Mr. Goulder has also worked as an Assistant Attorney General of Ohio, and Ohio Special Prosecutor in law enforcement and prosecution, and he was appointed Special Counsel to the Attorney General of the State of Ohio. Although his private practice initially involved commercial, business, and corporate/commercial real estate matters,

Gerald Goulder, managing partner of Goulder Immigration Law Firm, is a North Carolina immigration lawyer with clients throughout the world, guarantees personal service to every client. Clients receive one-on-one direct access to immigration attorney Gerald Goulder on phone calls, emails, or letters. If you are seeking guidance, experience and knowledge of immigration and visa laws involving family-based or employment-based permanent residence and green cards, visas, or citizenship, do not hesitate to contact Goulder Immigration Law Firm.

Many States Have Mandatory E-Verify Laws

E-Verify is an Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its agency U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA). E-Verify is currently free to employers and is available in all 50 states. It provides an automated link to federal databases to help employers determine employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers. E-Verify is now required for many federal contractors.

Although E-Verify is voluntary, many states now require employers to use E-Verify.

States Requiring the use of E-Verify 

DHS/ICE enforcement of I-9 and employer sanctions laws now targets employers through on-site investigations and administrative or "desktop" audits. 

Employer failure to verify employment eligibility and properly complete and retain I-9 Forms subjects the company to stiff I-9 criminal and civil liabilities, including imprisonment, asset forfeiture, and treble damages in RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) lawsuits by competitors. Executives, officers, managers, supervisors and key employees, as well as accountants are personally liable for civil and criminal penalties for I-9 related errors and unlawful employment eligibility verification (EEV) practices.

I-9 compliance (and E-Verify for registered employers, now including FAR federal contractors) require that employers verify all workers’ employment eligibility, or work authorization. Persons not authorized for employment, whether documented foreign nationals (or "illegal immigrants") generally do not have work authorization. The I-9 laws and the employment eligibility verification process restrict employment of illegal or undocumented immigrants and employment of persons who are not "employment authorized".

Employer liability extends to circumstantial evidence and “constructive knowledge”.
  It is unlawful to knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized workers. This I-9 process mandates accurate and timely completion of the Form I-9 by all U.S. employers and their employees.

"Knowingly hire" includes "constructive knowledge". The requisite employer's knowledge may be constructive knowledge when it may be fairly inferred through notice of certain facts which through exercise of reasonable care would lead a person to know about; or the employer deliberately fails to investigate such facts.

Employer constructive knowledge extends to its subcontractors' and independent contractors' I-9 compliance.

Goulder Immigration Law Firm assists employers with Form I-9 consulting, including I-9 and employer sanctions compliance training, developing a company I-9 and employer sanctions compliance manual, and employment eligibility compliance auditing services.  Written I-9 compliance policies and a Form I-9 and employer sanctions law internal audit will help protect employers from government fines and criminal penalties and help ensure that all I-9 Forms comply with I-9 and employer sanctions laws. 

Gerald Goulder is a North Carolina immigration lawyer who practices exclusively immigration law for North Carolina clients and for clients throughout the United States, and the world.  Immigration law is a federal law practice not limited attorneys in a particular state.

Should an Employer Subject to FAR Federal Contractor E-Verify Its Entire Workforce?

Once an employer is subject to the FAR E-Verify Regulations, it has two decisions to make.

1. Will it only verify employees assigned to the project, or will it verify all employees of the business entity?

2. Will it require all re-verified employees to complete a new I-9, or will it only complete a new I-9 when required to do so?

Verifying the Form I-9 employment eligibility for the entire workforce and using it company-wide going forward will ensure compliance under the FAR E-Verify Regulations.

Then, the employer only needs to make sure that its qualifying subcontractors, flowing from the employer’s prime contracts, comply with the FAR E-Verify regulations when the subcontracts are for services or for construction with a value over $3,000.

E-Verify does allow a federal contractor to change their selection from just employees assigned to contract and new hires to entire workforce.

However, E-Verify does not allow an employer to change from E-Verifying its entire work force to just employees assigned to contract and new hires.

A company may withdraw from E-Verify altogether once the covered federal contract is completed, then re-register with E-Verify with a new “basic” E-Verify account.

DHS/ICE enforcement of I-9 and employer sanctions laws now targets employers through on-site investigations and administrative or "desktop" audits. 

Employer failure to verify employment eligibility and properly complete and retain I-9 Forms subjects the company to stiff criminal and civil liabilities, including imprisonment, asset forfeiture, and treble damages in RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) lawsuits by competitors. Executives, officers, managers, supervisors and key employees, as well as accountants are personally liable for civil and criminal penalties for I-9 related errors and unlawful employment eligibility verification (EEV) practices.

I-9 compliance (and E-verify for registered employers, now including FAR federal contractors) require that employers verify all workers’ employment eligibility, or work authorization. Persons not authorized for employment, whether documented foreign nationals (or "illegal immigrants") generally do not have work authorization. The I-9 laws and the employment eligibility verification process restrict employment of illegal or undocumented immigrants and employment of persons who are not "employment authorized".

Employer liability extends to circumstantial evidence and “constructive knowledge”.
  It is unlawful to knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized workers. This I-9 process mandates accurate and timely completion of the Form I-9 by all U.S. employers and their employees.

"Knowingly hire" includes "constructive knowledge". The requisite employer's knowledge may be constructive knowledge when it may be fairly inferred through notice of certain facts which through exercise of reasonable care would lead a person to know about; or the employer deliberately fails to investigate such facts.

Employer constructive knowledge extends to its subcontractors' and independent contractors' I-9 compliance.

Goulder Immigration Law Firm assists employers with Form I-9 consulting, including I-9 and employer sanctions compliance training, developing a company I-9 and employer sanctions compliance manual, and employment eligibility compliance auditing services.  Written I-9 compliance policies and a Form I-9 and employer sanctions law internal audit will help protect employers from government fines and criminal penalties and help ensure that all I-9 Forms comply with I-9 and employer sanctions laws. 

Gerald Goulder is a North Carolina immigration lawyer who practices exclusively immigration law for North Carolina clients and for clients throughout the United States, and the world.  Immigration law is a federal law practice not limited attorneys in a particular state.

Illegal Workers in Agriprocessors Postville, Iowa, Raid Would Not Be Guilty Under Recent Supreme Court Ruling in Flores-Figuera

In May 2008 ICE executed its largest worksite action ever in Postville, Iowa against Agriprocessors.  ICE led 16 state and federal agencies in executing the warrants.  Over 300 illegal workers were arrested for identity fraud, served 5 months and were deported.

The Agriprocessor owner’s trial gets started this week.  He faces bank fraud charges that were uncovered after and as a result of the worksite action. The owner faces a total 163 charges and, if convicted, a maximum prison sentence of 1,995 years.

However, under a May 2009 United States Supreme Court ruling ICE can no longer pressure unauthorized workers with identity theft unless they know that the identity actually belongs to a specific person.

In Flores-Figueroa v. United States the United States Supreme Court held that a person cannot be convicted of aggravated identity theft (AIT) unless the government proves beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant knew that the documentation number that he used actually belonged to another person.  The ruling puts an end to the ICE’s prevalent use of the aggravated identity theft statute [18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(1)] in immigration cases to prosecute aliens who buy false IDs, not knowing whether or not the particular social security number used on the false ID is one belonging to an actual person or is simply a randomly chosen number.

The ruling directly limits the scope of ICE’s worksite enforcement authority. ICE has generally used the threat of prosecution under the federal aggravated identity theft statute and the mandatory prison time of 2 years imposed by the statute to obtain plea agreements to lesser charges from unauthorized workers, as well as waivers of their rights to contest their deportation.

By limiting the use of the aggravated identity theft statute to situations where the defendant actually knows that he is using a Social Security number or other means of identification that belongs to a real person, the Supreme Court’s decision provides undocumented workers with an important tool in contesting their arrests in enforcement efforts.

DHS/ICE enforcement of I-9 and employer sanctions laws now targets employers through on-site investigations and administrative or "desktop" audits. 

Employer failure to verify employment eligibility and properly complete and retain I-9 Forms subjects the company to stiff criminal and civil liabilities, including imprisonment, asset forfeiture, and treble damages in RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) lawsuits by competitors. Executives, officers, managers, supervisors and key employees, as well as accountants are personally liable for civil and criminal penalties for I-9 related errors and unlawful employment eligibility verification (EEV) practices.

I-9 compliance (and E-verify for registered employers, now including FAR federal contractors) require that employers verify all workers’ employment eligibility, or work authorization. Persons not authorized for employment, whether documented foreign nationals (or "illegal immigrants") generally do not have work authorization. The I-9 laws and the employment eligibility verification process restrict employment of illegal or undocumented immigrants and employment of persons who are not "employment authorized".

Employer liability extends to circumstantial evidence and “constructive knowledge”.
  It is unlawful to knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized workers. This I-9 process mandates accurate and timely completion of the Form I-9 by all U.S. employers and their employees.

"Knowingly hire" includes "constructive knowledge". The requisite employer's knowledge may be constructive knowledge when it may be fairly inferred through notice of certain facts which through exercise of reasonable care would lead a person to know about; or the employer deliberately fails to investigate such facts.

Employer constructive knowledge extends to its subcontractors' and independent contractors' I-9 compliance.

Goulder Immigration Law Firm assists employers with Form I-9 consulting, including I-9 and employer sanctions compliance training, developing a company I-9 and employer sanctions compliance manual, and employment eligibility compliance auditing services.  Written I-9 compliance policies and a Form I-9 and employer sanctions law internal audit will help protect employers from government fines and criminal penalties and help ensure that all I-9 Forms comply with I-9 and employer sanctions laws. 

Gerald Goulder is a North Carolina immigration lawyer who practices exclusively immigration law for North Carolina clients and for clients throughout the United States, and the world.  Immigration law is a federal law practice not limited attorneys in a particular state.

Agriprocessors is a Case Study in Immigration Related Prosecution of HR Employees and Mid Level Supervisors

Agriprocessors, of Postville, Iowa, is a case study in the difficult web of immigration-related employer liability that can spread throughout a company.  The ICE raid occurred in May, 2008.  The company owner's first trial began this week.

The 99 count indictment alleges that the defendants committed some or all of the following crimes:  conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit, harboring and aiding and abetting the harboring of undocumented aliens for profit, conspiracy to commit document fraud, aiding and abetting document fraud, aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft, unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, bank fraud, false statements and reports to a bank, money laundering and aiding and abetting, and finally, willful violation of an order of the Secretary of Agriculture and aiding and abetting the same. 

Indictments were brought no only against the owner of the company, but charges were also brought against mid level HR employees and supervisors.  An HR employee or a supervisor at any level of a company deludes himself/herself if s/he believes that federal authorities are only interested in the big bosses.

A former HR employee was charged with conspiracy to harbor undocumented immigrants and harboring, aiding and abetting the harboring of undocumented aliens for profit. 

The saga began because an ICE investigation that indicated rampant IF fraud by almost 700 workers at the plant.

The ICE raid was the largest in history. The worksite enforcement action raid involved 16 local, state and federal agencies, led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The 300 workers arrested represent almost one-third of the plant's 968 workers

Typical of many worksite enforcement actions, the immigration-related violations that opened the door to the company resulted in numerous charges that are not immigration related.  The owner has been on federal bank fraud, state child labor violations and under a dusted off 1921 Meatpackers and Stockyards Act that no one can remember ever being used in a criminal action.

The mountains of documents both sides are combing through for discovery include: all Agriprocessors' personnel office files, 10 binders containing I-9 forms, 12 binders of grand jury testimony, electronic discovery that would equal 100 banker boxes if in paper form and at least 10 boxes of records on the bank fraud charges. 

The owner faces a total 163 charges and, if convicted, a maximum prison sentence of 1,995 years.

The more than 300 illegal workers served 5 months and were deported.

DHS/ICE enforcement of I-9 and employer sanctions laws now targets employers through on-site investigations and administrative or "desktop" audits. 

Employer failure to verify employment eligibility and properly complete and retain I-9 Forms subjects the company to stiff criminal and civil liabilities, including imprisonment, asset forfeiture, and treble damages in RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) lawsuits by competitors. Executives, officers, managers, supervisors and key employees, as well as accountants are personally liable for civil and criminal penalties for I-9 related errors and unlawful employment eligibility verification (EEV) practices.

I-9 compliance (and E-verify for registered employers, now including FAR federal contractors) require that employers verify all workers’ employment eligibility, or work authorization. Persons not authorized for employment, whether documented foreign nationals (or "illegal immigrants") generally do not have work authorization. The I-9 laws and the employment eligibility verification process restrict employment of illegal or undocumented immigrants and employment of persons who are not "employment authorized".

Employer liability extends to circumstantial evidence and “constructive knowledge”.
  It is unlawful to knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized workers. This I-9 process mandates accurate and timely completion of the Form I-9 by all U.S. employers and their employees.

"Knowingly hire" includes "constructive knowledge". The requisite employer's knowledge may be constructive knowledge when it may be fairly inferred through notice of certain facts which through exercise of reasonable care would lead a person to know about; or the employer deliberately fails to investigate such facts.

Employer constructive knowledge extends to its subcontractors' and independent contractors' I-9 compliance.

Goulder Immigration Law Firm assists employers with Form I-9 consulting, including I-9 and employer sanctions compliance training, developing a company I-9 and employer sanctions compliance manual, and employment eligibility compliance auditing services.  Written I-9 compliance policies and a Form I-9 and employer sanctions law internal audit will help protect employers from government fines and criminal penalties and help ensure that all I-9 Forms comply with I-9 and employer sanctions laws. 

Gerald Goulder is a North Carolina immigration lawyer who practices exclusively immigration law for North Carolina clients and for clients throughout the United States, and the world.  Immigration law is a federal law practice not limited attorneys in a particular state.