E-Verify is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) web-based service that employers use to confirm their new hires are authorized to work in the US. It compares information from an employee’s Form I-9 against data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility. Right now, except for federal contractors/subcontractors in certain situations, the U.S. government does not mandate the use of E-Verify. Federal legislation has been proposed to change this, but as of today regulation of E-Verify is up to the states. It is up to each state government to decide how it wants to influence or regulate the use of E-Verify for employers in the state.

Today, E-Verify is: 

• Used nationwide by more than 500,000 employers
• Used at more than 1.4 million hiring sites

If you work for a large, multi-state employer, you probably know how difficult it can be to keep abreast of the current and proposed laws that might affect you in each state where you have offices. (This E-Verify Laws Map might be helpful to you).

Those employees whose work authorization cannot be verified are given the opportunity to work with SSA or USCIS, as appropriate, to confirm their work authorization.