Today, the E-Verify Team formally retracted the Frequently Asked Questions for federal contractors that were distributed to webinar participants by email last Wednesday, March 17th. As previously reported, these FAQs contained some new guidance concerning E-Verify setup and the tentative nonconfirmation (TNC) process. According to today’s announcement, the FAQs were sent in error, and E-Verify is seeking further clarification on a few of the pointers before posting a new a version on its web site. Stay tuned for the constantly evolving E-Verify rules!

In other news, the DHS issued a 30 day extension of its E-Verify data collection survey, which is required under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for “information collections” by the federal government. The notice was originally announced on January 6, 2010, but apparently, DHS did not receive any responses. Written comments or suggestions about the E-Verify process can be sent via fax to 202-272-8352 or via email to rfs.regs@dhs.gov (with the subject line OMB-55).

DHS will use this information to evaluate how the E-Verify program is working nationally, whether employers are using it as intended, and the positive and negative impacts if E-Verify were to become mandatory. Comments will be accepted until April 26, 2010.