Op-ed | Green Cards, clawbacks and compliance: Immigration sponsorship after the Trapped at Work Act' | amNewYork

"New York employers that sponsor foreign national employees for permanent residence are facing a materially different legal landscape under the state's Trapped at Work Act. As amended in early 2026, the law sharply restricts so-called stay or pay arrangements and significantly limits an employer's ability to recover costs from employees who leave before a specified period of service. Although the act does not explicitly reference immigration sponsorship, its structure, statutory language and legislative history strongly suggest that traditional green card reimbursement agreements are unlikely to be enforceable once the law becomes operative in February 2027."

"The act broadly prohibits employers from requiring employees or prospective employees to enter into an employment promissory note, defined as any agreement requiring repayment of money if the employment relationship ends before a stated period of time. The 2026 amendments adopted through Assembly Bill A9452 significantly narrowed the universe of permissible repayment arrangements. Most notably, the amended statute eliminated the prior authorization to recover sums advanced to employees and replaced it with a limited set of enumerated exceptions."

"One of those exceptions permits repayment of tuition, fees, and required educational materials associated with a transferable credential, defined as a degree, diploma, license, certificate or documented evidence of skill proficiency or course completion widely recognized in the relevant industry to demonstrably enhance the employee's employability. The statute imposes strict conditions on these agreements, including advance written disclosure, proration, c"

New York employers sponsoring foreign nationals for permanent residence face new limits under the Trapped at Work Act. Amendments effective in early 2026 sharply restrict stay or pay arrangements and reduce employers’ ability to recover costs when employees leave before a required service period. The law does not explicitly mention immigration sponsorship, but its structure, statutory language, and legislative history indicate that green card reimbursement agreements are unlikely to be enforceable once operative in February 2027. The key unresolved issue is whether the transferable credential exception can justify reimbursement of immigration sponsorship costs. The Act broadly prohibits employment promissory notes requiring repayment if employment ends early, and the 2026 amendments narrow permissible repayment arrangements by replacing prior authorization with enumerated exceptions, including tuition and fees tied to transferable credentials under strict conditions.

Read at www.amny.com