E-Verify & I-9 News

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.

The current Congressional authorization for the E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification for employees expires on November 1, 2008. It seems very likely that Congress will either re-authorize the program or, if it misses the November deadline, will continue to fund E-Verify until a new re-authorizing legislation is passed.  The E-Verify program is expected to continue after November 1.

The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed a bill by a landslide vote of (407-2), re-authorizing E-Verify for another five years. The House bill does not make any substantive changes in the current program and keeps participation voluntary for U.S. employers. The action is now in the U.S. Senate, where Senators have introduced various immigration-related amendments as part of the E-Verify re-authorization.

A number of Senators have signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid urging a clean vote on extending E-Verify rather than trying to change the program’s scope at this time, which — they fear — would delay re-authorization.

According to a press release from his Senate office, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) “noted that the comprehensive immigration reform bill Congress debated last year contained an even stronger version of E-Verify for employment verification and mandated all business use the system.  However, Graham noted that even a watered-down version of electronic employment verification, like E-Verify, is better than none at all.”

This means that participation in E-Verify would remain largely voluntary for employers, even though Senator Graham’s home state of South Carolina has passed into law legislation mandating the use of E-Verify for state government contractors and private employers in coming years. Other states have also passed or are considering similar laws. The Bush Administration has proposed that all current and future Federal contractors would also be required to use E-Verify. The implementation of this Federal rule is being debated and may be challenged in court. 

“Congress is running out of time to reauthorize and even enhance E-Verify,” wrote Graham.  “The number of employers relying on the program to hire legal workers is likely to grow.  Small businesses and companies that utilize it need to be able to know that Congress is not going to let this program die.”

“Both sides of the aisle would like to see reforms to the electronic employment verification program,” said Graham. “Ultimately, we would prefer to pass a bill requiring mandatory participation in the program. Since there is very little time left in this session, we urge you to support a straight reauthorization of E-Verify.  Extending the program will keep employers accountable while giving them the tools needed to abide by the law in their hiring practices.”

The letter was also signed by Senators Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Jon Kyl (R-Arizona), Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania), Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia), David Vitter (R-Louisiana), Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia), Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama), James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), John Ensign (R-Nevada), Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), and Wayne Allard (R-Colorado).

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.

The Tracker I-9™ team started the E-Verify & I-9 News Blog to share with American and global employers useful information about E-Verify, Form I-9, and immigration compliance issues. We will cover such topics as online functionality of electronic I-9 and E-Verify software, Form I-9 data security, and work visa management systems. We will also post useful employment and immigration-related news from U.S. Government and other sources as frequently as we find them.

You can expect to start seeing on this blog new E-Verify and I-9 information your company management and HR department can use in evaluating corporate policies and software needs. For now, please visit our Tracker I-9™ website, www.trackeri9.com, where you can request a free Form I-9 and E-Verify HR Toolkit designed to help answer some of the questions you may have about employment and immigration management software.

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.