The E-Verify or I-9 is a vital part of background checks, especially for any contractors with the federal and state governments as well as certain related agencies. The E-Verify is part of the Department of Homeland Security and upon submission, the I-9 will return confirmation that an employee is eligible to work in the United States. Of course, the law states that the employer must first offer employment to the job applicant, before being able to conduct the E-Verify-I-9 background check.
To be clear, no employer may conduct the I-9 unless his employment candidate is actually offered employment. To conduct a pre-employment background check to determine if your job applicant will be eligible to work legally in the United States, I suggest the employer first run a Social Security Trace.
Anyway, as a reminder to the changes in the E-Verify or I-9 program, here is a helpful list of modifications for your review. This list is provided by the Department of Homeland Security.
SUBJECT: Notification of Significant E-Verify Program Enhancements
The Verification Division, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of
Homeland Security, is responsible for the operation of the E-Verify program. Accordingly, the
Verification Division periodically implements enhancements to improve E-Verify. On June 14,
2010, E-Verify implemented the following enhancements:
• A new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Web Services E-Verify Employer
Agents (formerly known as Designated Agents) – The MOU provides new guidance on the
specific responsibilities of Web Service E-Verify Employer Agents. As a result, all E-Verify
Employer Agents are required to complete the new MOU. You should return the signed copy
of the MOU signature page by August 06, 2010. Failure to return the requested information
by that time could result in loss of access to E-Verify.
To submit the signature page, you can:
1) Fax it to (202) 443-0215. You should include your Company ID number on the upper
left hand corner of the signature page. Additionally, you should include a cover sheet
with your company’s name, address and contact information, or
2) Scan and email it to DAsupport@dhs.gov. You should include your Company ID
number, company name, address and contact information in the email. The subject
heading for the email should be MOU recertifieddon for E-Verify Weh Services.
• Improvements to the 3-day Rule – If you are unable to create a case within 3-days of hire,
E-Verify will prompt the user to enter the reason for the delay. As a result, employers will
no longer be required to note the reason for delay on the employee’s Form 1-9.
• New Audit Trail for Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC) Notices and Referral Letters –
E-Verify will record when the user prints the TNC Notice or Referral Letters.
www.uscis.gov
Notification of Significant E-Verify Program Enhancements Page 2
• Updates to terminology in the Social Security Administration (SSA) and DHS TNC and
Referral Letters
• New Case Closure Process – When closing a case, users will be prompted by a wizard to
answer a question that will determine which closure codes can be selected by the user.
• New Closure Codes — The closure code language has been simplified to improve user
understanding and case closure accuracy.
• Improvements to the reasons for a Social Security Administration (SSA) TNC – The
language describing the reasons for the SSA TNC has been updated so that they are easily
understood.
All new enhancements are documented in the attached Web Services Interface Control Document
(ICD) V21. Please ensure that you have updated your system interface to these new
specifications no later than December 17, 2010. Failure to update by this date could result in loss of access to E-Verify,
