Module 2

How does E-Verify work?

Answer:

E-Verify works by comparing the information entered on an employee's Form I-9 with records available to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and/ or Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to verify employment eligibility.

Form I-9 requirements for all employees are outlined in the Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274). Federal contractors should also review the 'E-Verify Supplemental Guide for Federal Contractors’ for more detailed information.

Employers and employer agents create cases for all employees ONLY after:

• A job has been offered;
• The applicant has accepted the position; and
• The Form I-9 has been completed.

Federal contractors must follow specific rules related to Form I-9 and existing employees. These rules include how to:

• Verify existing employees;
• Comply with certain expired documents; and
• Use Photo Matching when necessary.

Do federal contractors with the FAR E-Verify clause in their contracts have different policies and procedures for using E-Verify?

Answer:

Federal contractors have specific guidelines on who they verify and the time period required to create a case in E-Verify as outlined in the 'E-Verify Supplemental Guide for Federal Contractors.

Employers are required to timely and properly complete and retain Form I-9 for each employee they hire. The first day of employment means the first day an employee works in exchange for wages or other remuneration. This requirement also applies to federal contractors enrolled in E-Verify.

With the goal of ensuring a legal workforce, employers enrolled in E-Verify have chosen to take the additional step of electronically confirming that information their employees provide match government records.

Employers must complete Section 2 of Form I-9 in its entirety within three days of the employee’s date of hire. To complete Section 2, physically examine the documents presented by the employee in-person or remotely examine using an alternative procedure authorized by the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish the employee’s identity and employment authorization. An employer cannot specify which document(s) their employee may present from the List of Acceptable Documents. Employers may reject a document if it does not reasonably appear to be genuine and to relate to the person presenting it. Follow this process consistently, regardless of your employee’s citizenship, immigration status, or national origin.    

After From I-9 is complete, the next step is to create a case in E- Verify using the information from Form I-9. An E-Verify case must be created within three business days after the employee’s first day of employment. 

Fraudulent Documents Awareness

What is the timeframe by which an employer must create an E-Verify case after the employee begins work for pay?

Answer:

No later than the third business day after the employee started working in exchange for wages or other remuneration

The employee’s first day of employment is the date the employee begins working in exchange for wages or other remuneration. This is recorded in Section 2 of Form I-9. If Form I-9 is completed after the employee accepts the offer of employment, but before the actual start of work for pay or other remuneration, it is possible that the first day of employment recorded on Form I-9 could change after the employer created the case in E-Verify. If this happens, no additional action is required in E Verify as the first day of employment cannot be changed once the case has been submitted. If the employee’s first day of employment changes, employers should correct the date originally indicated in the certification block in Section 2 on the employee’s Form I-9.

NOTE: Employees whose first day of employment was on or before November 6, 1986, are not subject to Form I-9. Therefore, employers may not create E-Verify cases for these employees based on this employment. Individuals hired for employment in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on or before November 27, 2009, are not subject to Form I-9 and their employers may not create cases in E-Verify for them based on this employment.

For more information, consult the Handbook for Employers (M-274).

What is the employee’s first day of employment that must be used to create an E-Verify case?

Answer:

The first day of employment in exchange for wages or other remuneration.

Photo matching is an additional step that prompts employers and employer agents to compare an employee’s photo ID with a photo displayed in E-Verify. Photo matching only occurs when the employee presents:

• A Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551)
• Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766)
• A valid U.S. passport or passport card

If the employee presents one of these documents, the employer or employer agent must copy the front and back of the document (or in the case of a U.S. passport, copy the Passport ID page and the Passport Barcode page) and retain the copies with Form I-9.

NOTE: Do not ask employees to present any specific document from the list above to enable use of the photo matching.

Do not compare the photo displayed by E-Verify Web services to the actual employee. Direct comparison between the photo on the document and the individual should have occurred during Form I-9 completion, prior to using E-Verify Web services access.

Only select No photo displayed if E-Verify displays nothing at all or it displays something other than a photo of a person, such as a photo of a document. 

Users are required to scan and upload the front and back of the photo match document if the case receives a photo mismatch Tentative Nonconfirmation. If the employee provided a U.S. passport or passport card, users are required to upload an image of the passport ID page and the passport barcode page.
 

A photo may appear in E-Verify after you create a case. What is the photo that appears in E-Verify compared to?

Answer:

The photo on the employee's Form I-9 document