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No Match Rule: E-Verify Update

  Latest Updates
  How it Works
  E-Verify Statistics

Latest Updates

E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA).

This program allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.

Congress failed to re-authorize the E-Verify program during deliberations of the recent omnibus spending bill.

However, the program still has enough funding to last through September.

The FY 2009 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security has some provisions that keep E-Verify alive until September 30, 2009.

The differing information about the actual end date of E-Verify triggered a Department of Homeland Security memo.

Bill Wright, spokesman for the DHS division that operates the program said this: "This agency continues to go on the premise that we are authorized to continue the program because it has been funded through September 2009."

In another development, USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service) announced it has delayed until April 3, 2009, the implementation of an interim final rule entitled "Documents Acceptable for Employment Eligibility Verification" published in the Federal Register on Dec. 17, 2008.

The rule streamlines the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) process.

In addition the Federal Contractor rule has been delayed until May 21, 2009.

The effective date of the final rule requiring certain federal contractors and subcontractors to use E-Verify has been delayed until May 21, 2009. (www.uscis.gov/e-verify)

How it Works

E-Verify is an online system operated jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Employers who participate in the program can check on the internet to find out the work status of a person. This is done by comparing information from the persons I-9 form against SSA and Department of Homeland Security databases.

The Form I-9 information is electronically compared with over 444 million records in the SSA database, and more than 60 million records in Department of Homeland Security immigration databases.

Either a confirmation or a non-confirmation is usually received in a brief period of time. A "non-confirmation" can be resolved if the person can later prove that there was a discrepancy in the system. If the non-confirmation is not resolved, a final notice is issued and an employer is not allowed to hire the person.

On June 6, 2008, President Bush amended Executive Order 12989 to direct all federal departments and agencies to require contractors to agree to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their employees.

More Details on How It Works -

1. An employer goes to www.dhs.gov/e-verify and registers to use E-Verify.

2. The employer is required to read and sign a Memorandum of Understanding, and then takes an online tutorial on how to use the system.

3. Information is entered into the system from an I-9 form.

4. E-Verify compares the information to the SSA and Homeland Security databases.

5. If the person is confirmed they are authorized to work.

6. If the information doesn't match then the person is notified of the "tentative non-confirmation."

7. They have eight working days to contest the results with the SSA or DHS.

8. If the issue is not resolved then a "final non-confirmation" is sent and the person is considered not to be eligible for work.

E-Verify Statistics

• Approximately 100,000 employers have voluntarily signed up so far.

• In 2008 6.6 million inquiries were made into the system.

• 2009 inquiries are up to 3 million already, according to NumbersUSA. (3/09)

• The number of registered employers is growing by over 1,000 per week.

• E-Verify has an error rate of less that 4 percent.

• A 2008 government evaluation found that in 96.1% of cases, a persons work authorization was confirmed immediately.

• It is estimated that if the E-verify system became mandatory it would need to process 63 million inquiries a year.

• 1986 was the first time that employers were required to confirm that a newly hired employee is authorized to work in the United States.

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