What is E-Verify?
E-Verify is an Internet-based system that compares information entered by an employer from an employee’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to records available to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to confirm employment eligibility.
What Are the Benefits of E-Verify?
- E-Verify operates with speed and accuracy
- E-Verify is the only free, fast, online service of its kind that electronically confirms an employee’s information against millions of government records and provides results within as little as three to five seconds
- Has over 967,000 enrolled employers of all sizes
- Includes more than 2.4 million hiring sites
- Is joined by about 1,500 new participating companies every week
- Is one of the federal government’s highest-rated services for user satisfaction
What Does E-Verify Compliance Mean?
- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recommends that E-Verify employers establish a process to ensure they are complying with Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, and E-Verify statutes, regulations, and requirements
- E-Verify compliance means meeting the terms of the MOU and applicable laws, including the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA)
- DHS encourages employers enrolled in E-Verify to establish a process for complying with the statutes, regulations, and requirements that pertain to both the Form I-9 process and E-Verify
Note: you should take care to avoid E-Verify misuse. As some types of misuse may leave the employer subject to legal action.
E-Verify Account Compliance:
- Detects employer misuse
- Identifies and deters possible discriminatory practices
- Gives guidance on the proper use of E-Verify
- Contacts employers about potential case processing errors
- Conducts desk reviews and site visits to assist employers with E-Verify program compliance
Desk reviews take place by email and phone. Site visits take place in person. Both are opportunities for E-Verify staff and E-Verify participants and their users to discuss observations and recommendations.
USCIS conducts these account compliance activities to prevent misuse, abuse, discrimination, breach of privacy, and fraudulent use of E-Verify under applicable laws, rules, regulations, and agency policies.
Improper use of E-Verify or Form I-9 indicating potential fraud, discrimination, or other illegal activities may be referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Justice (DOJ), or other investigative or law enforcement agencies
How to Avoid Common Mistakes Found by Monitoring and Compliance?
The following list contains some common mistakes participants make when creating E-Verify cases:
- Immediately terminating employees because they receive a Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC)
- Creating duplicate cases for the same employee
- Requiring an employee to use Self Check or my-EVerify
- Using incorrect case closure statements
- Failing to close cases
- Failing to create a case by the third business day after the employee started work for pay
- Creating cases for employees who were hired before the participant enrolled in E-Verify unless the employer works under the FAR E-Verify clause
- Failing to print a Further Action Notice
- Not reviewing a document containing a photo of the employee provided a List B identity document
- Not having a program administrator listed on their E-Verify account
- Requesting specific documents
These errors are minor and unintentional, but in some instances, they are part of a larger compliance issue that could be more serious.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recommends that E-Verify employers establish a process to ensure they are complying with Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, and E-Verify statutes, regulations, and requirements.
DHS also publishes a guide that provides information on creating and maintaining effective compliance and self-assessment processes that will help you to:
- Detect, resolve and prevent non-compliant activities quickly and effectively
- Enhance the efficiency of your employment operations and human resource management
- Promote proper use of E-Verify
A Brief Summary of the Checklist:
1. ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES CHECKLIST
- After enrolling in E-Verify and the program administrator completes the E-Verify tutorial and passes the knowledge test, DHS recommends that E-Verify employers perform account maintenance activities
- Once or twice a year, employers should ensure their accounts contain current contact information and that users no longer with the company are removed from the account
2. CREATING A CASE CHECKLIST
- Employers must create E-Verify cases no later than the third business day after the employee begins work for pay and after completion of Form I-9
- Employers must enter the date the employee began, or will begin, work for pay in the E-Verify hire date field
- This date should match the date the employer entered in the Certification block of Section 2 of Form I-9
3. PHOTO MATCHING CHECKLIST
- If an employee presents a Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551), an Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766), a valid U.S. passport or a valid U.S. passport card, E-Verify prompts the employer to compare the photo ID on the employee’s document to a photo displayed in E-Verify
- Matching the two photos helps to ensure the validity of these documents
4. TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMATION (TNC) PROCESS CHECKLIST
- A TNC occurs when the information an employer enters into E-Verify from an employee’s Form I-9 does not immediately match information from either DHS or Social Security Administration (SSA) record
- This does not necessarily mean that the employee is not authorized to work in the United States
- Employees must be allowed to resolve a TNC result if they choose to do so
- While contesting a TNC, employees must be allowed to work without any change in working conditions that are based on the TNC
5. SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION REFERRAL PROCESS CHECKLIST
- An employee who chooses to contest an SSA TNC is referred to the Social Security Administration
- The E-Verify employer must promptly print and verify the information on the SSA Further Action Notice, and both the employer and employee must sign the English language version of the Further Action Notice
- The E-Verify employer must file the English language version of the Further Action Notice with the employee’s Form I-9, as well as give a copy to the employee
- The E-Verify employer must also provide the employee a copy of the SSA Referral Date Confirmation
- The SSA Referral Date Confirmation provides the date by which the employee must visit SSA
6. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY REFERRAL PROCESS CHECKLIST
- An employee who chooses to contest a DHS TNC is referred to the Department of Homeland Security
- The E-Verify employer must promptly print and verify the information on the DHS Further Action Notice and both the employer and employee must sign the English-language version of the Further Action Notice
- The E-Verify employer must retain the original English language version of the notice with the employee’s Form I-9, as well as give a copy to the employee
- The E-Verify employer must also provide the employee a copy of the DHS Referral Date Confirmation
- The DHS Referral Date Confirmation provides the date by which the employee must contact DHS
7. FINAL CASE RESOLUTION CHECKLIST
To complete the E-Verify process, every case must receive a final case result and be closed with the applicable case closure statement
There are four possible final case results:
- Employment Authorized
- DHS or SSA Final Nonconfirmation
- DHS No Show
- Error: Close Case and Resubmit
- E-Verify provides a “DHS or SSA Final Nonconfirmation” message when it cannot confirm an employee’s employment eligibility based on information provided to E-Verify after an employee has been referred to DHS or SSA
- E-Verify generates a “DHS No Show” message when the employee fails to contact DHS within eight federal government working days
- Once E-Verify provides a “DHS or SSA Final Nonconfirmation” or a “DHS No Show” result, the employer must select the appropriate case closure statement and close the case
- If EVerify provides an “Error: Close Case and Resubmit” result, the case cannot continue because the expiration date entered for the employee’s U.S. passport, passport card or driver’s license is incorrect
- The employer must resubmit this case in E-Verify with an unexpired document date
8. FINAL CASE CLOSURE STATEMENTS CHECKLIST
There are 12 different case closure statements:
- The employee continues to work for the employer after receiving an Employment Authorized result
- The employee continues to work for the employer after receiving a Final Nonconfirmation result
- The employee continues to work for the employer after receiving a No-Show result
- The employee continues to work for the employer after choosing not to contest a Tentative Nonconfirmation
- The employee was terminated by the employer after receiving a Final Nonconfirmation result
- The employee was terminated by the employer for receiving a No-Show result
- The employee was terminated by the employer for choosing not to contest a Tentative Nonconfirmation
- The employee voluntarily quits working for the employer
- The employee was terminated by the employer for reasons other than E-Verify
- This case is being closed because of technical issues with E-Verify
- The case is invalid because another case with the same data already exists
- The case is invalid because the data entered is incorrect
Note: Employers must close every case created in E-Verify
Each case is closed using the appropriate case closure statement
Note: Use this checklist along with the current MOU and the current E-Verify User Manual.
You can find the PDF version of the self-assessment guide here
The globalization of the economy has opened the doors for American businesses to hire people from all around the world. Hence, it is more important than ever that companies follow immigration compliance rules. These include providing visa sponsorship for international personnel, Form 1-9, E-Verify Compliance, and LCA/Public Access File Compliance.
Consider hiring an experienced immigration attorney to assist you in this process of E-Verify Compliance. You can fill out this contact form and schedule your consultation with one of our attorneys, or
Schedule a Consultation 469-994-9407 to discuss your options.