Hon. Jeffrey S. Chase, May 16, 2024 "In 2003, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees published Guidelines for applying the bars to asylum known internationally as the “exclusion...
Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box, May 14, 2024 "In “What if the Job Has Changed Since the Labor Certification Was Approved Many Years Ag o” we discussed strategies for noncitizen workers...
Blanford v. USCIS "Because of a consular officer’s suspicions over a $900 payment, two children have spent the last seven years in a Liberian orphanage instead of with their adoptive parents...
EOIR, May 10, 2024 "The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced the appointment of 20 immigration judges—18 immigration judges who joined courts in California, Georgia...
DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO TERMINATE THE FLORES SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AS TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES News coverage here and here .
DOJ, Sept. 15, 2020
"A Middlesex County, New Jersey, corporation involved in consulting, technology and staffing and using primarily foreign nationals in the United States pursuant to H1-B visas has agreed to resolve allegations that it violated immigration and employment regulations concerning continuous employment and wage requirements, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
The United States contended that from January 2014 through June 2018 many of Savantis Solutions LLC’s H-1B workers were not paid the required wage in regular intervals at the required wage rate throughout their period of employment. Savantis, based in Edison, New Jersey and formerly known as Vedicsoft Solutions LLC and Vedicsoft Holdings LLC, failed to properly pay many of its H-1B workers in conformance with their applications to the federal government and federal regulations. The United States also contended that Savantis improperly recruited H-1B workers by requesting that they provide security deposits to Savantis prior to Savantis submitting their H-1B Cap lottery applications.
The resolution requires the company to pay $345,365 in restitution, which will be used to pay back wages plus interest to employees and former employees of the company. Savantis cooperated in the investigation of the matter and undertook compliance efforts in response. Pursuant to the agreement, the company is also required to hire an outside law firm to serve as a monitor to ensure ongoing and continued compliance with the relevant rules and regulations for the next three years.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, New York Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael C. Mikulka; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason Molina; the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division’s Southern New Jersey District Office under the direction of District Director, Charlene Rachor; and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Office of Fraud Detection and National Security, Vermont Service Center and Newark Field Office, leading to today’s resolution.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Dauenheimer, Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney's Office’s Government Fraud Unit in Newark.