E-Verify & I-9 News

E-Verify has announced a new address which must be used by employers when mailing photos to DHS for case resolution. The photo matching process in E-Verify occurs automatically when an employee presents a green card or employment authorization document. If the photo presented by the employee does not match the photo in E-Verify, employers are instructed to notify the employee, and if he/she contests, to send a copy of the photo document to DHS.

This can be accomplished in two ways: (1) the employer can scan and upload a copy of the photo document (file must be in GIF format and be no larger than 1.5 megabytes) or (2) send a copy of the photo along with the DHS referral letter to the following new address:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
10 Fountain Plaza, 3rd Floor
Buffalo, NY 14202
Attn: Status Verification Office – Photo Tool

The E-Verify photo tool is currently available for both direct employers and designated agents (as of this month). The photo tool will also be made available to web services users who are using a third-party  electronic I-9 and E-Verify system, although there has been no requirement or deadline imposed by DHS for those employers to utilize it yet.

Today, the USCIS announced that employers can continue to use the current version of the Form I-9 (Rev. 2/2/09) beyond its expiration date of June 30, 2009. The Form I-9 is currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the USCIS has requested that it be approved without any substantive change. Once approved, a new Form I-9 will be posted on the USCIS web site with a new revision and expiration date. According to today’s press release, employers will be able to use either the revised version or the current version of the form.

Employers using an electronic I-9 system will be largely unaffected by these developments as long as their system has the required fields and data elements of the current I-9 form and can reproduce a legible hardcopy in the event of an audit.

As of April 3, 2009, all U.S. employers must use a new version of the Form I-9 (dated 2-2-09), to verify the work eligibility of new hires. Here’s what you need to know about the new form:

Employers can no longer accept expired documents

Previously, the U.S. passport and all List B documents were acceptable, even if expired.

This latest version of the I-9 form includes a revised “List A” set of documents

List A documents are those that establish both a worker’s identity and employment authorization. The following documents have been added: Foreign passports containing the I-551 permanent residence notation printed on a machine-readable immigrant visa; the new U.S. Passport Card; passports and certain other documents for citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Certain documents have been removed from List A

The following documents have been eliminated from List A: Forms I-688 (temporary resident card) and the I-688A and I-688B (Employment Authorization Cards) which are no longer issued.

Several changes were also made to Section 1 of the I-9 form

Section 1 is where the employee provides biographic information and attests to his or her employment status. In particular, the form has been revised to include a separate section for non-citizen nationals of the U.S., such as persons born in American Samoa; certain former citizens of the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; and certain children of noncitizen nationals born abroad.

The new form is available on the USCIS web site here: http://www.uscis.gov/i-9.

As before, the new I-9 form can be completed electronically

Employers should consider switching over to an electronic I-9 solution, such as Tracker I-9 , which offers built-in compliance rules and peace of mind in knowing that you’re always using the latest version of the I-9. More information on Tracker I-9′s lastest release was published on Friday.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is extending the effective date of its interim final rule “Documents Acceptable for Employment Eligibility Verification” for 60 days until April 3, 2009. The rule which was originally published in the Federal Register on December 17, 2008 was slated to go into effect on Monday, February 2, 2009.

As previously reported , the new I-9 rule makes minor changes to the Form I-9, revises the list of acceptable documents and stipulates that employers can no longer accept expired documents. USCIS posted the new I-9 form to its web site on January 18th, but as a result of today’s announcement, they are now advising employers to only use the new form on or after April 3, 2009. Until that time, employers should continue using the 06/05/2007 version, which is also available online .

The delay of the I-9 rule (along with the E-Verify Federal Contractor Rule delay) comes as a result of a memo issued by the Obama Administration last week, which directed all federal agencies and departments to consider extending the effective date of any regulations which have not yet taken effect so that the new administration can review them. USCIS also is extending the comment period for this rule for an additional 30 days.

According to the recently released data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), more than 100,000 U.S. employers are now participating in the Federal Government’s online eligibility verification program, known as E-Verify. The Internet-based system, operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA), allows participating employers to electronically verify their employees’ eligibility to legally work in the United States. USCIS administers the program.

While the use of E-Verify continues to be voluntary for most U.S. businesses, recent legislative and executive branch actions at both Federal and state level suggest a growing trend to make participation in E-Verify mandatory for more categories of employers. The latest group to be affected by these changes are Federal contractors and subcontractors.

USCIS reported that for FY2009 to date, more than 2 million employment verification queries have been run using E-Verify.  During FY2008, approximately 6.6 million employment verification queries were processed (as compared to a total of 3.27 million in all of FY2007).   The Department of Homeland Security’s FY2009 appropriation legislation, signed into law on Sept. 30, 2008, provided $100 million to continue, expand and improve E-Verify in FY2009.

In a move likely to vastly increase employer participation in the program, Federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to begin using E-Verify starting February 20, 2009. Several states already mandate its use for employers receiving state contracts or grants.  While some businesses welcome E-Verify as a useful tool to keep their workforce legal, business and civil rights groups tend to oppose mandatory employment verification requirements. Legal challenges have delayed but did not stop the planned implementation of the new rule affecting Federal contractors and subcontractors.

State-specific E-Verify laws are detailed and complex. Employers can request a free E-Verify and Form I-9 HR Toolkit from the Tracker I-9™ website to help you to manage these new requirements.
ImmigrationTracker™, the developer of Tracker I-9™ and other award-winning immigration and employment management systems, has recently released the latest version of its Form I-9 software, which includes the option of selective use of E-Verify among multiple worksites and for individual employees to meet the latest requirements for Federal and state contractors. Backed by a staff of accomplished attorneys and software designers, Tracker I-9™ offers the most secure solution to electronically prepare, sign, store and manage I-9 forms while complying with the latest E-Verify rules.

Electronic Form I-9 Management Software with E-Verify Improves Compliance with Employment and Immigration Laws

The paper Form I-9 process has always been error-prone and hard to centralize. Form I-9 management software can store, manage, and submit employee I-9 information electronically to the Federal databases in a fraction of the time it takes HR personnel to process paper forms. Some paperless Form I-9  management systems, including Tracker I-9™, are integrated with E-Verify, allowing employers to submit information about new hires to government databases instantly and securely in real time.

Using Form I-9 management software with E-Verify features, organizations faced with the task of including E-Verify in their new hire on-boarding process can simplify their work and conduct all tasks with only one password and user interface to learn.  By automatically filling information from the electronic Form I-9 record to open an E-Verify case, duplicate data entry and subsequent errors can be avoided right from the start. These systems can:

• Offer verification of social security numbers against government databases

• Integrate with a company’s existing office and HR management software

• Have built-in alerts to help employers avoid costly errors and liability from noncompliance

• Catch mistakes commonly made when filling out paper I-9s

In addition to these features, Tracker I-9™:

• Provides automatic notification of immigration status changes requiring I-9 reverification

You can request from Tracker I-9™ A Free Form I-9 and E-Verify HR Toolkit.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog does not constitute direct legal advice and is designed for informational purposes only. Information provided through this website should never replace the need for involving informed counsel on your employment and immigration issues.

According to the U.S. government’s estimates, nearly four million American employees may be affected if the Administration implements its proposed rule requiring Federal contractors to participate in E-Verify. The federal government estimates that there are more than 168,000 Federal contractors and 3.8 million employees who may be affected by the Executive Order. Federal contractors conduct hundreds of billions of dollars of business with the government each year.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than three million businesses and organizations, is opposed to the proposed mandatory extension of E-Verify to cover Federal contractors, but it supports continuing E-Verify as a voluntary program.

More information:

Are Current and Future Federal Contractors Already Required to Use E-Verify? 

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Opposes Rule for Mandatory Use of E-Verify by Federal Contractors As Number of U.S. Employers Using the Program Keeps Growing.

Posted by Tracker I-9™ team.

Employers can request a free E-Verify and Form I-9 HR Toolkit from the Tracker I-9™ website.

Disclaimer: The content of this post does not constitute direct legal advice and is designed for informational purposes only. Information provided through this website should never replace the need for involving informed counsel on your employment and immigration issues.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a reminder to its customers  on August 18, 2008 to use the correct version of the Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) dated 05/27/08. The edition date appears in the lower right hand corner of the form as “Form I-765 (Rev. 05/27/08) N”.

USCIS announced that submission of an earlier version of Form I-765 may result in rejection of the application. The main purpose of the Form I-765 is to allow certain foreign nationals in the United States to request employment authorization and an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

Customers may download the correct version of the Application for Employment Authorization Form I-765 and instructions from www.uscis.gov/i-765 or under the “Immigration Forms” tab on the USCIS website.

In April, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security  (DHS) released an interim final rule extending the period of Optional Practical Training (OPT) from 12 to 29 months for qualified F-1 non-immigrant students. The extension will be available to F-1 students with a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. To take advantage of the program, they must be employed by businesses enrolled in the E-Verify program. Other conditions also apply. See DHS Announcement

Work authorizations present a special problem for Form I-9 management systems. Very few software programs now available help employers manage the records of employees with unusual or temporary work visa authorizations. The law requires that when an employee’s work authorization expires, employers must reverify his or her employment eligibility.

The Tracker I-9™ system from ImmigrationTracker™ combines both Form I-9 employment eligibility and immigration management in one comprehensive package which generates alerts to HR staff about critical visa and I-9 authorization deadlines.

You may learn about Tracker I-9™ on our website, where you can also request a Free E-Verify and Form I-9 HR Toolkit.

Posted by Tracker I-9™ team.

Disclaimer: The content of this post does not constitute direct legal advice and is designed for informational purposes only. Information provided through this website should never replace the need for involving informed counsel on your employment and immigration issues.

I-9 Forms can be filled out and retained on paper, but generating and processing them electronically means fewer errors. This is especially true for companies that have a large number of employees, high turnover rates, and/or multiple worksites.

Electronic I-9 systems allow for more efficient employee on-boarding, space-saving, and vastly improved compliance with employment, nondiscrimination and immigration laws. Using the reporting features of these systems, management and HR staff can be alerted to potential compliance problems.

While the employee’s original documents (such as passport, visa, driver’s license, SNN card, etc.) must still be presented in person, HR or other staff anywhere within a company can enter I-9 data directly into a secure system. Such systems have various self-audit features that help to reduce costly mistakes. They also give management a centralized view and control of the hiring process.

For many employers, some type of electronic management system is therefore essential to keep track of all the documents, deadlines, and work visa reverification requirements.

In processing the Form I-9 information, some software programs can also warn HR staff about actions that may amount to unlawful discrimination, although they can’t be a complete substitute for good knowledge of the law and good judgment. The penalties for ignoring the legal requirements of the I-9 process and for discrimination in hiring can be quite severe, even in cases of unintentional omissions and mistakes. The penalties for discrimination based on citizenship status or national origin can range from $275 to $2,200 for the first offense for each individual discriminated against; form $2,200 to $5,500 for the second offense; and for subsequent offenses, not less than $3,300 and not more than $11,000 for each affected person.

If violations occur, electronic management of the I-9 process may help employers establish “good faith” defense in the event they are charged with knowingly hiring an unauthorized foreign national.

Finally, some software programs also help employers manage the records of employees with unusual or temporary work visa authorizations. The law requires that when an employee’s work authorization expires, employers must reverify his or her employment eligibility.

The Tracker I-9™ system from ImmigrationTracker™ combines both Form I-9 employment eligibility and immigration management in one comprehensive package which generates alerts to HR staff about critical visa and I-9 authorization deadlines.

You may learn about Tracker I-9™ on our website, where you can also request a Free E-Verify and Form I-9 HR Toolkit.

Posted by Tracker I-9™ team.

Disclaimer: The content of this post does not constitute direct legal advice and is designed for informational purposes only. Information provided through this website should never replace the need for involving informed counsel on your employment and immigration issues.

All things being equal, security experts prefer software that works with on-site servers rather than remote databases accessible only through the Internet. The in-house database solution, however, may not be the right choice for all users, especially for smaller firms without sufficient physical security and technical infrastructure. But even in such cases, customers don’t have to sacrifice security if they select the right software for processing their immigration cases and store their data in a manner recommended by Internet security experts.

As a general rule, an I-9, E-Verify, or immigration software company that has been in business for quite some time and is highly rated by major corporations and top immigration attorneys offers a higher level of data security and a better value for its products. For Web-based systems, the critical question to ask is whether they store client information in one large central database or provide each client with its own separate database, which is the closest to having an in-house server behind your company’s firewall but without the hassle and expense.

An analysis of the I-9, E-Verify and immigration management software market reveals that not all Web-based services are the same. Some companies commingle data in one central database to make it cheaper for them while passing on the risk to the consumer. Probably the only company that has stayed away from this practice has been ImmigrationTracker™, a leading proponent of using secure data storage practices within the immigration, Form I-9, and E-Verify software industry. (www.immigrationtracker.com) ImmigrationTracker™ is the developer of Tracker I-9™ (www.trackeri9) Form I-9 software with E-Verify and work visa management system.  Law firms and Fortune 500 US companies, which have the highest data security requirements, rely on ImmigrationTracker™ software for  Form I-9 and immigration-related data management. Other software companies have never produced such on-premise systems or are only beginning to enter the field.

Nearly all Form I-9, E-Verify and immigration software companies which host data for their clients put all sensitive information in one central database. Tracker I-9™ differs in this respect by offering a separate database for each client. In all cases, clients can access their data remotely, but the level of data security is not the same. According to Microsoft, “customers in fields such as banking or medical records management often have very strong data isolation requirements, and may not even consider an application that does not supply each tenant with its own individual database.” Law firms have equally strong requirements for data security, as do HR departments of corporations, as well as hospitals and universities employing foreign nationals on US work visas.

Using one central database is less expensive and less cumbersome for the software provider. It requires less technical oversight, less equipment, and ultimately less work. It is, however, less secure for the users, as it raises the possibility of commingling of data, loss of data, and clients receiving their competitors’ information by mistake. The single online database solution also makes it much easier for hackers or others who deliberately try to obtain sensitive information. The number of built-in protections, gatekeepers, and password-restricted areas is lower in one-database systems than in systems using separate databases.

Another important consideration in evaluating Form I-9, E-Verify and immigration management software is the archiving of information and the ease of data retrieval. One-database systems make it more difficult and less certain for clients to successfully retrieve their data backups. Users of such systems have complained of being unable in some cases to get access to information that should have been archived and of data being irretrievably lost after a short period of time.

Because of its multiple database solution, as well as other technical features and superior customer service, Tracker I-9™ clients have more secure and easier access to their sensitive information. They can also quickly move from hosted to on-premise system when business expansion justifies storage of data on an in-house server.

This article was written by Ted Lipien, editor of VISAandLAW.com, a global immigration law news website.

Disclaimer: The content of this post does not constitute direct legal advice and is designed for informational purposes only. Information provided through this website should never replace the need for involving informed counsel on your employment and immigration issues.