E-Verify works by comparing the information employees provide for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, against records available to DHS and SSA.
E-Verify Case
Generally, if the information matches, the employee’s case receives an Employment Authorized result in E-Verify. If the information does not match, the case will receive a Tentative Nonconfirmation (Mismatch) result and the employer must give the employee an opportunity to take action to resolve the mismatch.
Employers must understand and follow the proper E-Verify procedures which are designed to ensure fair treatment and due process for all employees.
If E-Verify cannot instantly confirm employment eligibility, it must manually review government records. DHS will respond to most of these cases within 24 hours.
It is possible for E-Verify to issue a dual mismatch, which means the case received a mismatch result from both agencies at the same time because information entered into E-Verify does not match records available to both DHS and SSA.
E-Verify identifies the agency or agencies associated with the mismatch in the Further Action Notice.
Steps Employees Must take Following a Mismatch
Employers must complete the following steps in E-Verify within 10 federal government working days after issuance of the mismatch result:
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Notify Employee
Notify your employee of their mismatch result as soon as possible within 10 federal government working days.
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Provide Copy to Employee
Give your employee a copy of the Further Action Notice.
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Review Further Action Notice
Review the Further Action Notice with your employee in private and have them confirm whether the information listed at the top is correct.
- If the information is incorrect, close the case and select the statement indicating the information was not correct. After the case is closed, create a new case for your employee with the correct information.
- If the information is correct, proceed to the next step.
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Take Action?
Tell your employee they have 10 federal government working days from issuance of the mismatch to notify you whether or not they will take action to resolve the mismatch.
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When to Close a Case
If your employee does not give you their decision by the end of the 10th federal government working day after E-Verify issued the mismatch, then you close the case. Please see E-Verify User Manual for more information on closing cases in E-Verify.
Starting November 5, 2020
E-Verify will begin notifying employers not in compliance with this legal requirement to take action to meet the requirement. This requirement promotes E-Verify system integrity and will help ensure employers close E-Verify cases according to the requirements of the E-Verify User Manual.
Common Reasons for Mismatches
IMPORTANT
Employers may not terminate, suspend, delay training, withhold or lower pay, or take any other adverse action against an employee because of the mismatch, until the mismatch becomes a Final Nonconfirmation. If the employee chooses not to take action on the mismatch, the employer may terminate employment with no civil or criminal liability as noted in "Responsibilities of the Employer," Article II, Section A paragraph 13 of the MOU. The case can be treated as a Final Nonconfirmation and the employer should close the case in E-Verify.
Related Resources
E-Verify User Manual
This manual provides guidance on E-Verify processes and outlines the rules and responsibilities for employers and E-Verify employer agents enrolled in E-Verify. Users must follow the guidelines set forth in the E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding for Employers (MOU) and the rules and responsibilities outlined in this manual.
Related FAQs
You must notify your employee of their mismatch result as soon as possible. You must also inform your employee that they must tell you whether they will take action on their mismatch by the 10th day after E-Verify issued the mismatch.
Once you have received your employee’s decision on whether they will take action on their mismatch, you must confirm the employee’s decision by selecting the appropriate box in E-Verify and refer the case or close the case.
You must complete these steps by the 10th federal government working day after issuance of the E-Verify mismatch.
For more information on how to confirm your employee’s decision, see the E-Verify User Manual.
Once you refer a mismatch case, the employee must contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or visit a Social Security Administration (SSA) field office within eight federal government working days to take action on their mismatch. The employee’s Referral Date Confirmation provides the date by which the employee must contact DHS or visit SSA.
For more information on how to take action on a mismatch, refer to the Referral Date Confirmation or visit our How to Correct a Tentative Nonconfirmation page.
E-Verify has extended the time frames to take action on certain mismatches. Please refer to the Temporary Policies Related to Covid-19 page for more information.
Related Resources
If your employee did not tell you their decision by the end of the 10th federal government working day after issuance of the mismatch result in E-Verify, you should close the case. For more information on how to close a case, refer to the E-Verify User Manual.
Not telling you whether they will take action on their mismatch is the same as your employee choosing not to take action to resolve the mismatch. When E-Verify issues a Final Nonconfirmation, you may terminate employment with no civil or criminal liability as noted in the Responsibilities of the Employer section, Article II, Section A paragraph 13 of the Memorandum of Understanding.