Employers Should Review Form I-9 for Social Security Number Glitch

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Brian Fancher

There is an important news alert from (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) regarding the electronic Form I-9 and an error with Social Security Number entered on copies of the form that were downloaded between Nov. 14 and Nov. 17, 2016 from USCIS.

According to USCIS, there was a glitch when the revised Form I-9 was first published on Nov. 14, 2016.

Numbers entered in the Social Security number field were transposed when employees completed and printed Section 1 using a computer. For example, the number 123-45-6789 entered in the Social Security number field would appear as 123-34-6789 once the form printed.

If you do see the error:

Employers who notice their employees’ Social Security numbers are not written correctly should have their employees draw a line through the transposed Social Security number in Section 1, enter the correct Social Security number, and then initial and date the change. Employers should include a written explanation with Form I-9 about why the correction was made in the event of an audit.

Be sure you have the updated forms, downloaded from Employment Eligibility Verification | USCIS. And read the full alert here.

Adopting an automated I-9 and E-Verify solution, such as Tracker’s I-9 Complete is the best way to eliminate compliance risks with I-9 Forms and fees. Our powerful compliance logic makes it virtually impossible to process an I-9 that contains errors. Get a demo here.

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Tracker is the most trusted partner for I-9 and E-Verify compliance, with thousands of customers including the top U.S. employers. We are the only I-9 software company with a perfect 13-year record with federal agencies and systems.

North Carolina: The E-Verify Times, They Are A-Changin’

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Brian Fancher

Two bills with a potentially significant impact on employers’ obligations are pending in the North Carolina House of Representatives, and each regards the possible mandated use of the federal E-verify program within the state by all state contractors and subcontractors, and/or all employers with five or more employees.

North Carolina currently only requires employers with twenty-five or more employees to use E-verify; and individuals employed for less than nine months are not considered employees that require use of E-verify. (See NC Department of Labor – E-Verify Frequently Asked Questions. )

Accpording to JDSupra,

The first bill, HB35, would require that all employers with five or more employees use the federal E-verify program, a much lower threshold than the current twenty-five-worker trigger. This means that many businesses that have been blissfully unaware of E-verify will now have to familiarize themselves with the program. The bill also eliminates an exception for temporary employees, but explicitly creates an exception for independent contractors and farm workers.

The second bill, HB306, would require that all State government contractors and subcontractors E-verify their workers’ authorization to work.

To further complicate the matter, HB35 eliminates an exception for temporary employees, but explicitly creates an exception for independent contractors and farm workers.

Of course, many NC employers want to avoid the complications of training someone to use E-verify, deal with the issues of properly informing employees of their application status and updates, and being liable for fines when inspectors with the USCIS find mistakes, and being liable for illegal hires.

One solution is to use an automated I-9 and E-Verify solution, such as Tracker’s I-9 Complete, one of the best ways to eliminate compliance risks with I-9 Forms and fees. Our powerful compliance logic makes it virtually impossible to process an I-9 that contains errors. So if you’re an employer in North Carolina, get a demo today.

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USCIS Will Accept Only New Forms Starting Feb. 21, 2017

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Brian Fancher

Important updates from the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services): On Dec. 23, 2016, the USCIS published updated versions of forms – such as the Form I-9 – and a new fee schedule took effect. All new forms have an edition date of 12/23/16. Read the USCIS press release here.

And, starting Feb. 21, 2017, the USCIS will no longer accept previous editions of these forms. And you must include the new fee or USCIS will reject and return your filing.

Using an automated I-9 and E-Verify solution, such as Tracker’s I-9 Compleete is the best way to eliminate compliance risks with I-9 Forms and fees.

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Increased Efficiency with Tracker’s New App from PowWow Mobile

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Brian Fancher

Tracker Corp turned to PowWow Mobile to convert their web applications into a modern mobile app, and within two months of deployment, Tracker had 20,000 employees utilizing it to complete Form I-9 on their mobile devices.

The Tracker’s product that went mobile, I-9 Complete®, is an employment eligibility verification solution that is used for hundreds of thousands of hires annually by some of the largest retailers, restaurant chains and many other employers in the country to file the federally required I-9 Forms. Form I-9 is used for verification by the federal government of the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired in the US. All employers must ensure accurate completion of Form I-9 for every hire.

But most employers use the paper Form I-9, which can be error prone and is very labor intensive. Tracker’s I-9 Complete® is an electronic I-9 solution that reduces the resources an organization has to devote to I-9 & E-Verify compliance and delivers full compliance and complete visibility for HR from any desktop computer with no need for paper copies of I-9’s, scanning, printing or copying.

And now, with the ability of employers to go mobile with I-9 verification by using Tracker’s new mobile version of I-9 Complete®, working with Form I-9 is even easier. Employers can now complete new hires from anywhere on their mobile devices, and employers can capture signatures, driver’s license information and social security numbers, all securely.

PowWow Mobile built the mobile app to meet all technical and Federal security requirements without any changes to Tracker’s existing applications. And there is no storage of personal information or images on the mobile device used to file the I-9.

“With PowWow Mobile’s SmartUX Platform, we were able to modernize and extend one of our core product’s out to thousands of users on mobile devices quickly, with no disruptions to our business. This allowed us a faster time to market and provided a significant competitive advantage. We could have never achieved this level of speed and economy building this ourselves.”

– Brian Fancher, Vice President of I-9 Product Management & Chief Compliance Officer, Tracker Corporation.

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Beginning Today, Employers Must Now Use Form I-9 Dated 11/14/2016

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Brian Fancher

Important reminder: according to the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) press release here, beginning Jan. 22, 2017, employers must use the 11/14/2016 N version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to verify the identity and work eligibility of every new employee hired after Nov. 6, 1986, or for the reverification of expiring employment authorization of current employees (if applicable).

Prior versions of the form will no longer be valid for use. Employers who fail to use Form I-9 11/14/2016 N on or after Jan. 22, 2017 may be subject to all applicable penalties under section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324a, as enforced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

We covered the changes in the new Form I-9 in our post USCIS Releases NEW Form I-9.

And another reminder: adopting an automated I-9 and E-Verify solution, such as Tracker’s I-9 Complete is the best way to eliminate compliance risks with I-9 Forms and fees. Our powerful compliance logic makes it virtually impossible to process an I-9 that contains errors.

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