More Costly in 2025: Immigration and Nationality Act Missteps

In a final rule, the Department of Homeland Security increased the penalties for violations of federal immigration law.

With enforcement of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) on this rise, it’s crucial to ensure compliance so you can steer clear of these higher penalties.

The inflation-adjusted amounts apply to INA penalties assessed after January 2, 2025, for violations that occurred after November 2, 2015.

Immigration Law Violations

The INA is enforced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies. Table 2 of the final rule lists the ICE civil penalty adjustments.

For Form I-9 paperwork violations, employers will pay $288 per person. That’s up from $281. The maximum amount employers will pay is $2,861 – last year it was $2,789.

For knowingly hiring, recruiting, referring or retaining an unauthorized alien, the penalties are:

• $716 (was $698), maximum $5,724 (was $5,579), for the first offense
• $5,724 (was $5,579), maximum $14,308 (was $13,946), for the second offense, and
• $8,586 (was $8,369), maximum $28,619 (was $27,894), for the third or subsequent offense.

Under INA Sec. 274C(a)(1)–(a)(4), for knowingly using, attempting to use, possessing, obtaining, accepting, receiving or providing any forged, counterfeit, altered or falsely made document, the penalties are:

• $590 (was $575), maximum $4,730 (was $4,610), for a first offense, and
• $4,730 (was $4,610), maximum $11,823 (was $11,524), for a subsequent offense.

Under INA Sec. 274C(a)(5)–(a)(6), for knowingly preparing, filing or assisting another person in preparing or filing a document, if the document is falsely made or doesn’t relate to the person on whose behalf it’s submitted, the penalties are:

• $500 (was $487), maximum $3,988 (was $3,887), for the first offense, and
• $3,988 (was $3,887), maximum $9,970 (was $9,718), for a subsequent offense.

Additional Enforcement

The Department of Homeland Security isn’t the only federal agency that enforces the INA — and it’s not the only agency increasing its penalty amounts in 2025, either.

The Department of Labor (DOL) implements provisions of the INA related to certain visas. They include:

• H-1B visas, and
• H-2B visas.

Under the H-1B program, employers can hire foreign workers to fill specialty positions, while the H-2B program allows them to hire foreign workers to perform nonagricultural labor or services.

Of course, employers must first obtain the proper documentation.