The Department of Justice, Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Office (OCAHO) recently ordered a Subway restaurant, Snack Attack, to pay a $27,000 fine for committing 108 Form I-9 violations in United States of America v. Snack Attack Deli, Inc. d/b/a Subway Restaurant #3718. Located in North Carolina, the Subway franchise neglected to verify its employees' eligibility to work for several years and failed to complete I-9s for its employees. 

The restaurant received a Notice of Inspection (NOI) from U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) in early 2009. The ICE Forensic Auditor visited Snack Attack on January 30, 2009, and requested all Form I-9s for current and former employees between the years of 2006 through 2009. The Auditor also provided a copy of a sample I-9 form along with the Handbook for Employers (M-274) and specifically told one of the employees that if new forms were prepared, they should not be backdated. When the I-9s were submitted for inspection, ICE observed that (1) Snack Attack had produced only 11 Forms I-9 for the 108 employees (current and mostly past employees); and (2) Snack Attack had only partially completed the 11 forms that were produced (section 2 was blank on all of them), and 7 of the forms had been backdated in section 1, including the restaurant owner's I-9.

In its complaint, ICE  sought penalities for a total of $111,078. Snack Attack requested a hearing with OCAHO to challenge both its liability and the assessed fines. In its decision, the Administrative Law Judge agreed with ICE that the I-9 violations were serious and that the employer lacked good faith. The Judge, however, considered the employer's small size and the general state of the economy to be more important factors that weighed in favor of a reduced penalty. Snack Attack also had no prior violations and no unauthorized workers. 

Although the penalties were reduced, the $27,000 fine is still significant for a small business like Snack Attack. To avoid such violations,  employers must proactively address employee eligibility issues through proper and timely completion of I-9 forms, training, and audits.  

For more information on how ICE assesses penalities, see the December 1, 2009, Form I-9 Inspection Overview, Fact Sheet.   

USCIS recently announced that certain applicants for employment-based or family-based adjustment to lawful permanent resident status may now apply for a single card that combines the employment authorization document (EAD) and the advance parole (AP) travel document.
 

To be eligible for the combined document, applicants must file a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and a Form I-131, Application for Advance Parole, at the same time. The two forms can be submitted with a Form I-485 application for adjustment of status or after the adjustment application has been filed.
 

The new document will look similar to the current Form I-766 employment authorization card, but it will be annotated with the words "Serves as I-512 Advance Parole." USCIS may issue the document for a validity period of one or two years or for a shorter period in its discretion. Employers may accept the combined card as a List A document when completing the Form I-9 employment eligibility verification process.
 

The processing time for the new combined document is currently unknown. While the regulation requires USCIS to issue EADs within 90 days, processing times for some adjustment-based EADS have increased well beyond this timeframe in recent months. Advance parole processing also takes longer in many cases.

Adjustment applicants are not required to seek the combined document. USCIS will continue to issue EADs and advance paroles separately.