​When terminating a foreign worker in the United States, employers must consider several State and Federal immigration laws. Therefore, this guide by the NPZ Law Group will explain what employers must do when terminating certain types of noncitizen workers.

Points to Consider When Terminating an Employee in H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 Status
The additional rules by the Department of Labor (DOL) regarding the Labor Condition Application and the rules of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) together make the termination of these employees quite challenging. Also, Employers may be liable for back wages if terminations are not effectuated correctly with the USCIS.

The terminations require the following.

• Written notices to the terminated employees before termination
• Written notices to USCIS (this is only if the petitions were filed with USCIS)
• Withdrawal of Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor.

When employers terminate foreign employees, it may be necessary for the employer to “offer” the cost of reasonable transportation for their return to their former country of residence. However, and generally, employees can stay in the United States for 60 days after their termination. This period can also be used to search for another employer that maybe able to keep them in the US.

Points to Consider When Terminating an Employee of O-1 Status
The terminations require the following:

• Written notices to USCIS
• An offer to cover the cost of reasonable transportation for the employees’ return to their former country of residence

Points to Consider When Terminating an Employee in E-1 and/or E-2 Status
The terminations have no mandatory requirement. However, it is recommended to do the following:

The US consulate responsible for issuing the E visa to an employee should be notified that the employee’s contract (employment arrangement) was terminated.

Points to Consider When Terminating an Employee in L-1 and/or TN Status
There do not seem to be any requirements or recommendations for the termination of employment of L-1 and TN employees. Therefore, there is no affirmative obligation on the employer to make any notification or even cover the cost of return transportation.

I-140 Petition Withdrawal
Employers do not need to withdraw I-140 petitions after the termination of employment of foreign workers. Withdrawing the I-140 petition may negatively impact the foreign worker. In general, it’s best to wait until 180 days after the termination occurs before withdrawing the petition—i.e., if the employer even chooses to withdraw the petition in the first place.

Issues Regarding Dual Representation
There are situations in which the employer and the employee are represented by the same attorney or law firm. While that may work in some situations, there may be cases where such an arrangement may present a “conflict of interest”. So, as an employer, it may be best to have a separate attorney from that of the employee.

Many immigration law practitioners make it clear in their engagement letter that the duty of loyalty may be afforded to one party on the other. Employers and Employees should be clear about the responsibilities of legal counsel from the beginning of the representation.

If you have any questions about how these laws in the United States may impact you or your family or want to access additional information about the United States or Canadian immigration and nationality laws, please feel free to get in touch with the immigration and nationality lawyers at NPZ Law Group. You can send us an email at [email protected], or you can call us at 201-670-0006 extension 104. In addition, we invite you to find more information on our website at www.visaserve.com.

Business Owners usually have a preconceived idea of what their business is worth, and it is often different from the value prospective buyers may put on it.
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Knowledge of a company’s true value is essential for business owners. This is particularly true in order for them to receive reasonable value when considering a transaction with a third-party.  Owners need to be prepared and know what to do if approached by a prospective buyer or to help develop a plan if they are considering selling the business in the near future.

In all these situations, owners must know their business’ true value to determine their next move, although most owners are at a loss as to how to determine this value. The danger is that some owners may begin pursuing a transaction with a third party without consulting their advisors, and that could be problematic, especially if the owner has inappropriate assumptions of the business’ value.
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Unfortunately, some owners will underestimate their business and its value, which could cause them to leave a lot of money on the table and, ultimately come up short in a future transaction. Conversely, some owners overestimate the value of their business causing them to be left empty-handed as they turn down a reasonable price for their business because they mistakenly think it is worth much more. The latter situation can be especially problematic for an owner with no family heirs for the business or an owner who has a health challenge or other issue that makes a sale important to consummate soon.
 
“The Right Value” – Formula Setting
 
It’s critical for the owner and advisors to have a realistic and objective value of what the business is worth prior to beginning a transaction. A common, and often very costly, mistake is to just use the business’ reported earnings as the sole basis for the valuation. Reported earnings often do not paint a complete and accurate picture and can give an erroneous image of the company’s true worth. Therefore, other factors need to be considered as well, such as normalized or adjusted earnings, which will factor in things like excessive salaries and expenses that are really owners’ perks. Earnings that are “normalized” may also be adjusted for unusual nonrecurring events—for example, a problem of a supplier that slowed sales for a given year but is very unlikely to recur or a new development that makes current earnings more reflective of future earnings than historic earnings that occurred prior to the development.

The best way to determine value is to start by looking at earnings, but then to dig deeper and examine the quality of those earnings so that the unique aspects of the business can be incorporated into the analysis. That more robust approach could add or detract significant value. For example, if you sell a product into a certain geographic or demographic niche that prospective buyers are eager to penetrate, then buyers might be willing to pay more for your company because of the value that this niche brings to that specific buyer.

On the other hand, there are factors that could lower the valuation of your business. Questions to ask yourself might include: Are there customer or supplier concentrations? Would the loss of a key customer or vital vendor lead to a significantly negative impact on revenue?
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That value includes intellectual property, any market niches, special client base or other strategic aspects that could be lucrative to a buyer.

Wide Range Outlook Can Increase Value
 
To determine the true value of a business, many factors need to be considered. While some less-qualified appraisers will determine the value based on “the numbers,” an appraiser or investment banker may combine solid financials with a wide-range outlook that can provide different vantage points on the soft details of your business and find the “hidden” value in your company. Select a firm that has experience with M&A and valuations and a group who is familiar with selling companies similar to yours.