Constructive Knowledge

Constructive knowledge is an important legal concept for univeristies as employers and sponsors of international students and scholars. Many immigration-related sanctions are based upon "knowing" that someone or something is not legal. In some cases the knowledge might be actual - take for example the situation in which you know that a person does not yet have authorization to work and you allow him or her to work anyway. In other cases, the knowledge might be constructive, meaning that through reasonable care you might have known. This situation can arise in many different ways, but the most obvious is when the institution has sponsored the nonimmigrant status of an individual, the institution has knowledge that special rules and conditions apply to him/her and the institution assumes certain responsibilities with respect to that individual.

Constructive knowledge is a sticky thing for large employers. The employer is one legal entity and each employee represents that employer in some capacity or another. In our official capacities as employees of the University we carry out our responsibilities on behalf of the university. Therefore, if one part of the University has knowledge that a violation has occured, the University as a whole is liable for that knowledge.