I-9 Enforcement in 2026: The Audit Surge and How Employers Can Protect Themselves and Respond to an ICE I-9 Audit

Kate Kalmykov, Shareholder & Co-Chair | Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Kate Kalmykov co-chairs Greenberg Traurig’s Global Immigration & Compliance Practice from the firm’s New York and New Jersey offices, where she has spent more than two decades advising employers on business immigration, I-9 compliance, and DOL audit defense, including one of the largest EB-5 offerings in the program’s history.

• Education & Credentials

Kalmykov earned her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law and an M.A. in International Affairs from American University, both in 2005, after graduating magna cum laude with a B.A. in International Studies from American University in 2002. She is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, as well as before the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and is fluent in Russian.

• Recognition & Leadership

Kalmykov has been listed in Best Lawyers in America every year from 2019 through 2026 and in Chambers USA since 2013, and Lawdragon has named her one of its 100 Leading Immigration Lawyers each year from 2023 through 2026. Super Lawyers has recognized her from 2021 through 2025, following a run on its Rising Stars list from 2012 through 2020, and the New Jersey Law Journal named her a 2024 Women Attorneys of the Year honoree. The National Law Review called her a “Go-To Thought Leader” in immigration law in 2022.

• Professional Involvement

Kalmykov has co-chaired the ABA’s Committee on Immigration and Naturalization within its Section of Administrative Law since 2011 and belongs to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, and the International Bar Association. She serves on the boards of the New Jersey Symphony, Helping Hands for Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Habitat Fund, and has led the Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations as its president since 2016.

• Experience

Over more than 20 years of practice, Kalmykov has represented thousands of EB-5 investors and structured more than $12 billion in EB-5 transactions, including what the firm describes as the largest EB-5 offering in the program’s history. She also maintains a substantial pro bono practice representing asylum applicants and individuals seeking Temporary Protected Status.

Cole Heyer, Shareholder | Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Cole Heyer is a Shareholder in Greenberg Traurig’s Atlanta office, where his practice covers employment-based immigration across nonimmigrant and permanent-residence categories alongside I-9 compliance work for clients in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, oil and gas, retail, fashion, IT, financial services, and food and beverage.

• Education & Credentials

Heyer graduated magna cum laude with his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in 2012, where he served on the staff of the Suffolk University Law Review and later as its Associate Production Editor, and earned his B.A. cum laude from Berry College in 2008. He clerked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Division of Administrative Law Appeals in the summer of 2010 and is admitted to practice in Georgia, including before the Supreme Court of Georgia.

• Recognition & Leadership

Best Lawyers in America named Heyer to its “Ones to Watch” list in immigration law for 2024 and 2025, and Lawdragon included him among its 100 Leading Immigration Lawyers for 2025 and 2026.

• Professional Involvement

Heyer belongs to the International Bar Association and contributes to Greenberg Traurig’s EB-5 Insights Blog.

• Experience

Heyer has practiced immigration law for more than a decade, joining Greenberg Traurig in 2015 after representing clients in a high-volume family-based immigration practice before the Atlanta Immigration Court and USCIS. His current practice also includes immigration-related federal litigation.

Bruce Buchanan, Senior Counsel | Littler Mendelson, P.C.

Bruce Buchanan is Senior Counsel in Littler Mendelson’s Nashville office, practicing across immigration and global mobility, labor-management relations, wage and hour, and compliance and investigations, with a practice built substantially around I-9 audits, ICE inspection representation, and E-Verify matters.

• Education & Credentials

Buchanan earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1982 and his B.S. magna cum laude from Florida State University in 1979. He is admitted to practice in Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia, and before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and D.C. Circuits, as well as several federal district courts in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Georgia.

• Recognition & Leadership

Best Lawyers in America has recognized Buchanan for Employment Law – Management in Tennessee every year from 2016 through 2026.

• Professional Involvement

Buchanan is active in the Tennessee Bar Association’s immigration law and labor & employment sections, the Associated General Contractors of America’s Middle Tennessee chapter, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, where he sits on the Online Review Course Committee and previously served on the Verification & Documentation Liaison Committee.

• Experience

Buchanan spent 20 years as a senior trial specialist for the National Labor Relations Board before moving into private practice, and has taught as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s William H. Bowen School of Law for more than a decade. He co-authored the I-9 and E-Verify Handbook (2017 and 2024 editions) and edited the Employer Sanctions chapter of the 2024 edition of Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook, drawing on client experience across manufacturing, restaurants and hospitality, healthcare, education, staffing, construction, and food processing.

John Mazzeo, Counsel | Seyfarth Shaw LLP

John Mazzeo is Counsel in Seyfarth Shaw’s Immigration practice, admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, where he focuses on employment eligibility verification and immigration compliance drawn in part from his time as a former ICE trial attorney handling worksite enforcement matter.

• Education & Credentials

Mazzeo earned his J.D. from Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law and his B.A. from Ursinus College. He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and his practice is limited to immigration and nationality law.

• Recognition & Leadership

Law360 named Mazzeo to its Immigration Editorial Board from 2023 through 2025.

• Professional Involvement

Mazzeo is Vice Chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Verification and Documentation Liaison Committee since 2024 and has held leadership roles at the Association of Corporate Counsel, chairing its Corporate and Securities Law Network from 2025 to 2026 after serving as Vice Chair from 2024 to 2025, and chairing the Greater Philadelphia chapter’s International Law Section Practice Area Network from 2024 to 2025.

• Experience

Before joining Seyfarth, Mazzeo served as an ICE trial attorney specializing in worksite enforcement and later advised one of the nation’s largest providers of onboarding services and solutions. Since 2022, he has spoken regularly at AILA, SHRM, and ABA conferences on Form I-9 compliance, E-Verify, and worksite enforcement, and has authored or co-authored more than eight articles on immigration compliance topics since 2023.

SESSION 1 – Preparing for an ICE Inspection: I-9 Self-Audits and Attorney-Client Privilege | 2:30pm – 3:30pm

This session will focus on conducting an I-9 self-audit under attorney-client privilege in today’s evolving enforcement environment. Attendees will gain practical guidance on structuring and documenting an I-9 self-audit, addressing common compliance issues, and navigating recent enforcement developments. The program will also examine penalty considerations and strategies for avoiding common pitfalls, including overcorrection, backdating, document abuse, and re-verification errors. Participants will receive a practical framework for evaluating and strengthening their organization’s I-9 compliance processes.

BREAK | 3:30pm – 3:40pm

SESSION 2 – Reasons for an ICE Notice of Inspection/Audit and How does an Employer Respond | 3:40pm – 4:40pm

This session examines reasons that an employer may be the target of an ICE Notice of Inspection/Audit. There are a number, including some of your employees, who are unauthorized to work, have been detained by ICE; a parallel investigation by another federal agency, such as Wage & Hour, OSHA, or DEA; IRS-ICE Data-Sharing MOU and no-match SSNs, which lead to undocumented workers; a tip from a disgruntled former employee or family member; and suspicious banking transactions leading to employment of undocumented workers.

After determining possible reasons for an ICE I09 audit, we will explore how employers should respond to an NOI and what the March 2026 reclassification of 11 technical errors to substantive I-9 violations means for penalty exposure. Finally, we will discuss the issuance of Notice of Intent to Fine (NIF) and how to successfully receive lower penalties.

Attendees will leave with an understanding of why many ICE I-9 audits occur, the recommended NOI response protocol, and the ability to counsel clients across hospitality, construction, staffing, and other high-risk industries on worksite-enforcement risk.