On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced a series of executive immigration initiatives that will impact millions of individuals already in the United States and their current or future employers. Although the specific details of how each initiative will be implemented have not yet been announced, employers should expect to receive questions from their employees about these new initiatives and how they will impact their immigration and employment status. 

The new initiatives include the following:

• Expanded eligibility for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to include people who arrived in the United States before turning 16 and have been present since January 1, 2010. It would also extend DACA work authorization from two to three years.
• Creation of a new program for parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who have been in the United States since January 1, 2010, if they pass required background checks. These individuals could request deferred action and obtain employment authorization for three years.
• Improving and clarifying immigrant and non-immigrant programs including the following proposed changes:
  • Expanding and extending the use of Optional Practical Training (OPT) for foreign students
  • Providing work authorization to the spouses of certain H-1B visa holders
  • Clarifying the meaning of “specialized knowledge” under the L-1B program
  • Authorizing parole to eligible inventors, researchers and founders of start-up enterprises
  • Clarifying the standard of the “national interest” waiver availability to select foreign nationals
  • Expanding use of provisional waivers of unlawful presence to include sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens
  • Providing citizenship education and public awareness for lawful permanent residents

The economic, legal and social impact of the above listed initiatives will be a hotly debated topic as federal agencies take steps to implement the President’s goals. Although the President’s executive actions do not contain employer sanctions provisions, employers may wish to remain mindful that the President’s executive actions complicate compliance with federal (and in some cases state) employment verification requirements, as well as the anti-discrimination provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act and Title VII. 

Employers may wish to therefore prepare themselves to address a host of potential issues, including: 1) properly addressing situations where employees who announce they have been using a false identity are now inquiring about, or claiming eligibility for, the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability program; 2) addressing situations where employees are attempting to regularize their personnel files after receiving Deferred Action; 3) addressing tax withholding and employee benefit issues; 4) working with contractors and/or subcontractors to ensure procedures to comply with employment eligibility verification requirements are still being met, particularly for government contractors; 5) updating policies, practices and procedures to ensure authorized workers are not treated differently with respect to any terms and conditions of employment; and 6) dealing with other pragmatic consequences associated with the President’s executive actions, including the processing of employer-sponsored visas. 

We expect that over the next weeks and months additional information about these new initiatives will be released.