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Employers have contended with more than a years’ worth of concerns that federal immigration authorities will visit worksites as part of the Trump administration’s enforcement efforts. But one scenario they may fail to account for occurs when authorities decide to visit the home office of an employee who works remotely.
These operations are typically carried out by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, specifically the agency’s Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate, which is charged with detecting fraud in immigration benefits requests, Kelli Duehning and Eileen Lohmann, partners at immigration-focused law firm BAL, said in an email to HR Dive.
FDNS visits focus on ensuring that employees working on H or L category employment visas are following the rules of their respective visa programs. The agency has the authority to conduct site visits to verify information submitted in an individual’s visa petition, and if the employee is in a remote or hybrid work arrangement, that means such visits can take place at an employee’s home.
“If an employer does not cooperate with a site visit, this can be grounds for the government to deny a petition or revoke the employee’s approval,” Lohmann said. “So it’s important to be prepared for these visits and to have a process for responding.”
