Watch Bp 03 Manual

[Georgeanna Abson]

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.

This section provides a background, overview and an introduction to basic website navigation, participation, user roles, rules and responsibilities, as well as the privacy and security guidelines of E-Verify.

In 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), which required the Social Security Administration (SSA) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), to conduct an employment verification pilot program. Under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), USCIS operates the E-Verify program, previously referred to as the Basic Pilot program. E-Verify is a free internet-based system that implements the requirements of IIRIRA by allowing any U.S. employer to electronically confirm the employment eligibility of its newly hired employees.

E-Verify is a voluntary program. However, employers with federal contracts or subcontracts that contain the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause are required to enroll in and use E-Verify as a condition of federal contracting. Employers with employees in states with legislation that require participation in E-Verify, for example, as a condition of business licensing, may also be required to participate in E-Verify. In addition, an employer may be required to participate in E-Verify pursuant to a court order.

Apart from any state or local law that requires participation in E-Verify, employers are fully responsible for complying with sections 274A (which addresses the requirements of the Form I-9 process) and 274B (which addresses unfair immigration-related employment practices) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Employers who fail to comply with either section may be subject to penalties.

E-Verify is free, and it is the best means available to confirm the employment eligibility of new hires. The E-Verify statute limits the scope of E-Verify operations to the United States, which includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Users may only create E-Verify cases in the United States.

E-Verify Self Check, referred to as Self Check, is a free, fast, secure and voluntary online service that allows individuals to confirm their own employment eligibility themselves. Employers may not ask current or prosepective employees to use Self Check to prove employment eligibility. The service is designed to provide visibility into government records, and if necessary, guidance on how individuals can correct those records. Self Check is separate from the E-Verify user interface. For more information and specific rules, visit -Verify.gov/employees/employee-self-services/mye-verify/self-check.

All E-Verify users need to be familiar with the website navigation links. The figure below provides a screen shot of the employer user webpage. The navigation links within each area vary depending upon the type of user. For more information on navigation links for E-Verify employer agents, refer to the Supplemental Guide for E-Verify Employer Agents.

Under the welcome banner are case alert boxes with important information about your cases, including Cases to be Closed, Cases with Updates, Cases with Expiring Authorization Docs, and Recently Auto-Closed Cases.

View Essential Resources under Resources contains links to important documents and tools for employers that participate in E-Verify. The Essential Resources Overview provides specific information on the resources available to users.

To enroll, employers must electronically sign the E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding for Employers (MOU) which details the responsibilities of DHS, SSA, and the employer. In addition, E-Verify users must agree to and follow the guidelines and responsibilities outlined in the MOU and this manual. Employers should ensure that users are prepared and capable of using E-Verify properly. Misuse of E-Verify may lead to legal consequences for both employers and users.

This access method allows employers to create and manage their own cases directly in E-Verify. Most E-Verify participants, regardless of their business size or structure, are enrolled under the employer access method.

The E-Verify employer agent access method allows an individual or company to act on behalf of other employers to create and manage the E-Verify cases of the other employers. The E-Verify employer agent may also create cases for its own employees.

General users and program administrators must successfully complete the online E-Verify tutorial before they can create or manage cases. For more information on the specific functions of each user role, see Section 6.1.

Every E-Verify account must have at least one program administrator. The program administrator is responsible for following all E-Verify program rules and staying informed of changes to E-Verify policies and procedures.

Employers can have as many or no general users as they desire. The general user is responsible for following all E-Verify program rules and staying informed of changes to E-Verify policies and procedures.

The use of E-Verify requires the collection of personally identifiable information (PII). Employers must protect the privacy of employees who submit information to be processed through E-Verify and ensure that all personal information collected is safeguarded and used only for the purposes outlined in the MOU.

E-Verify protects PII in accordance with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) records retention and disposal schedule (N 1-566-08-7) by annually disposing of E-Verify records that are over 10 years old. This minimizes security and privacy risks associated with U.S. government retention of PII.

This section outlines the steps required to create a case in E-Verify and the initial case results provided by E-Verify. For additional guidance specific to E-Verify employer agents, see the Supplemental Guide for E-Verify Employer Agents.

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. These Form I-9 requirements also apply to E-Verify employers. 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.

Newly hired employees must complete Section 1 of Form I-9 in its entirety on the first day of employment. They may complete Section 1 before this date, but only after acceptance of an offer of employment. Under general Form I-9 practice, employees can voluntarily provide their Social Security numbers (SSNs) on Form I-9. However, because SSNs are required for employers to create E-Verify cases, all employees whose employment eligibility will be verified in E-Verify must provide their SSNs.

Documents from List A establish both identity and employment eligibility. Documents from List B establish identity only and documents from List C establish employment eligibility only. Employers must accept either one document from List A, or a combination of one document from List B and one document from List C.

Any List B document presented to employers participating in E-Verify must contain a photo. However, if an employee objects to providing a photo document for religious reasons, call E-Verify at 888-464-4218. If the employee presents a U.S. passport, a passport card, a Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551) or an Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766), the employer must obtain a copy of it and retain it with Form I-9. For more information on Form I-9 retention guidelines, refer to the Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274).

If you rehire a former employee within three years of the initial execution of the previous Form I-9, but did not create an E-Verify case, or if you created a case and did not receive a result of employment authorized, have the employee complete a new Form I-9 and create a case in E-Verify.

If the employee presents a U.S. passport, a passport card, a Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551) or an Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766), and you will create a new E-Verify case for the employee, make a copy of the document and retain it with Form I-9.

Employees must present unexpired documents for Form I-9 verification (see exception below) and for the employer to create an E-Verify case. If information regarding an expired document is entered into E-Verify, it generates an error message and you will not be allowed to continue creating the case. The employee will need to present acceptable unexpired document(s) and the employer will need to correct Form I-9 before creating an E-Verify case.

Just because the employee presented an expired document does not mean he or she is not authorized to work. If the employee provides unexpired documentation that is used to create another case, it may still be possible for E-Verify to confirm their employment eligibility.

Not all EADs can receive an auto-extension; only EADS issued under specific category codes qualify. See section 5.1 Automatic Extensions Based on a Timely Filed Application to Renew Employment Authorization and/or Employment Authorization Document in the Handbook for Employers (M-274) or visit www.uscis.gov/I-9central for more information about which EAD category codes qualify for the auto-extension.

When a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for a particular country is extended, DHS may automatically extend the expiration date of EADs issued to those TPS beneficiaries via a notice published in the Federal Register. In this situation, the published notice will state the date to which the EAD has been extended. Record the date the EAD has been automatically extended to as the expiration date. The employee may show you the Federal Register notice.

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