March 25, 2013

New I-9 issued by USCIS

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires that all employers have their new employees fill out a Form I-9. A new version of the  I-9 has been issued by the government, of which the most obvious change is the addition of a second page. If employers do not use the new version of the form after May 7, 2013, they will be considered as non-compliant and will be exposing themselves to the possibility of civil, or even criminal, penalties. Current employees do not need to fill out a new I-9 unless they have an event that necessitates re-verification under the
provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The I-9 can be found here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=31b3ab0a43b5d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=7d316c0b4c3bf110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD

March 11, 2013

Wills for Heroes

I spent this past Saturday volunteering with Wills for Heroes, which held a session at the James N. Robey Public Safety Training Center in Marriottsville. Wills for Heroes is a phenomenal program which provides free wills and other estate planning documents for first responders - i.e. fire department and police department personnel. According to the Wills for Heroes website:
Anthony Hayes, a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough, LLP, in Columbia, South Carolina, started the Wills for Heroes program shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Anthony emailed the Columbia Fire Department asking what lawyers could do to help that department. During an impromptu focus group, it became clear that there was a glaring need for estate planning services.
 
The attorneys who volunteered this past Saturday were able to provide estate planning documents to roughly 70 individuals.