Labor probing work of major immigration law firm (disqualify American job applicants jobs to immigra

[Omaha Steve]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jtG5o3AQhDnnGSAE9TQ82i5uKbowD91GOQS80

By SUZANNE GAMBOA – 2 days ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's largest immigration law firm is under federal scrutiny over whether it helped major U.S. corporations disqualify American job applicants and give thousands of high-paying positions to immigrants.

The unprecedented Labor Department inquiry centers on Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy — a New York firm at the forefront of a political effort to ease hiring of skilled foreign workers.

The Labor Department is auditing all pending applications for legal immigrant workers the firm has filed on behalf of its corporate clients.

Fragomen's prestigious client roster includes General Electric Co., IBM Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., Intel Corp. and Bank of America Corp., according to company publications and trade journals. The firm also represents The Associated Press on immigration issues.

The inquiry focuses on what advice the law firm gave its corporate clients. There was no indication the companies themselves are under scrutiny.

The Labor Department said that Fragomen may have improperly advised clients to contact a Fragomen attorney before hiring "apparently qualified" U.S. workers. The agency said lawyers can advise employers on how to follow the law in hiring immigrants but can't dissuade them from deciding a U.S. worker is qualified.

FULL story at link.