USCIS Releases E-Verify Quick Reference Guide For Airport Operators

According to JDSupra, USCIS has released an E-Verify Quick Reference Guide For Airport Operators.

Under the Federal Aviation Administration Extension, Safety and Security Act of 2016, Pub. L. No. 114-190, airport operators can now apply to have direct access to use E-Verify to determine the employment authorization for individuals seeking unescorted access to an airport’s Security Identification Display Area (SIDA) as a component of their badging application process.

JDSupra writes that “USCIS guidance around E-Verify use for airport operators is still developing. E-Verify use has historically been limited to employers confirming identity and employment authorization for new hires as part of the Form I-9 process (and, with some limited exceptions for federal contractors, current employees).”

JDSupra also notes that this could be the beginning of a significant expansion of E-Verify through laws permitting E-Verify use where there is a perceived security benefit to confirming employment authorization.

You can download and print a copy of the manual here: E-Verify Quick Reference Guide For Airport Operators.

Arizona, Maryland and Wyoming Join the E-Verify RIDE Program

Beginning on July 31, 2017, Arizona, Maryland and Wyoming became the latest states to join the Records and Information from DMVs for E-Verify (RIDE) program at USCIS.

According to USCIS, “driver’s licenses and ID cards account for nearly 80 percent of the documents used as proof of identity by employees for E-Verify. The Records and Information from DMVs for E-Verify (RIDE) initiative is an enhancement to the E-Verify program that verifies the validity of driver’s license and ID card information by matching the data entered by employers against participating state motor vehicle department records. RIDE enables two-part verification by validating the information on select identity documents in addition to the existing employment authorization check.”

Arizona, Maryland and Wyoming join Wisconsin, North Dakota, Mississippi, Florida, Idaho, Iowa and Nebraska in this initiative.

Read the fact sheets for all states here: Driver’s License Verification RIDE | USCIS, and the fact sheets for those new states at these links:

Revised Form I-9 to Be Published July 17

According to a news release from USCIS , a revised form I-9 will be published on July 17.

From the USCIS website:

“USCIS will release a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, on July 17. Employers will be able to use this revised version or continue using Form I-9 with a revision date of 11/14/16 N through Sept. 17. On Sept. 18, employers must use the revised form with a revision date of 07/17/17 N. Employers must continue following existing storage and retention rules for any previously completed Form I-9.”

These are the changes and revisions:

Revisions to the Form I-9 instructions:

  • We will change the name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
  • We will remove “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment.”

Revisions related to the List of Acceptable Documents on Form I-9:

  • We will add the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) to List C. Employers completing Form I-9 on a computer will be able to select Form FS-240 from the drop-down menus available in List C of Section 2 and Section 3. E-Verify users will also be able to select Form FS-240 when creating a case for an employee who has presented this document for Form I-9.
  • We will combine all the certifications of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350 and Form FS-240) into selection C#2 in List C.
  • We will renumber all List C documents except the Social Security card. For example, the employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security on List C will change from List C #8 to List C #7.

 

And USCIS states that those changes will be include in a revised Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274), which also will be easier for users to navigate.

Revised Form I-9 Now Available

According to a news release from USCIS, a revised Form I-9 is now available.

From the USCIS website:

USCIS released a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, on July 17. Download instructions are available on the Form I-9 page. Employers can use this revised version or continue using Form I-9 with a revision date of 11/14/16 N through Sept. 17.

On Sept. 18, employers must use the revised form with a revision date of 07/17/17 N. Employers must continue following existing storage and retention rules for any previously completed Form I-9.

Changes and Revisions:

Revisions to the Form I-9 instructions:

  • We changed the name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
  • We removed “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment.”

Revisions related to the List of Acceptable Documents on Form I-9:

  • We added the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) to List C. Employers completing Form I-9 on a computer will be able to select Form FS-240 from the drop-down menus available in List C of Section 2 and Section 3. E-Verify users will also be able to select Form FS-240 when creating a case for an employee who has presented this document for Form I-9.
  • We combined all the certifications of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350 and Form FS-240) into selection C#2 in List C.
  • We renumbered all List C documents except the Social Security card. For example, the employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security on List C will change from List C #8 to List C #7.

 

IUSCIS has included these changes in a revised Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274), which is also easier for users to navigate.

Will E-Verify be Mandated by US Congressional Action?

According to Allen Smith, J.D., writing for The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest HR professional society, employers should become familiar with E-Verify for filing Form I-9’s because use of the UCIS’s E-Verify system is likely to become mandatory for all employers in the coming months.

While E-verify is mandatory for federal contractors, as well as contractors and employers in certain state, he quotes Lynn Shotwell, executive director of the Council for Global Immigration (CFGI), who said that “well under 10 percent of employers are currently enrolled in the system.”

That leaves as much as 90% of US employers not enrolled. So the E-Verify learning curve could become very steep – and quickly – for that 90%.

Why?

Because President Trump has proposed that $15 million of the Department of Homeland Security 2018 budget be used to begin implementation of mandatory E-Verify. That’s a bold step, and only Congress can make it so, as they must approve the funding, something Trump can’t do by executive order. Read the text of the bill: S.179 – 115th Congress (2017-2018): Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.

And there are bugs and issues with E-verify, Smith writes, that need to be addressed before millions more employers start using it, namely security against identity theft, liability for hiring mistakes, use of biometrics for identity verification, and more. And no one knows how those issues will be solved, if they are, before any roll out of the mandated use of E-verify.

The big question is if this happens at all. And, if so: how fast could it be rolled out? Would Congress allow one year for roll out? Or two or three?

Read the full article at Mandatory E-Verify Likely, but There Are Bugs to Work Out – SHRM.org

Of course, adopting an automated I-9 and E-Verify solution, such as Tracker’s I-9 Complete is the best way right now to eliminate compliance risks with I-9 Forms and fees. You can get a demo here.

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