E-Verify Information from DHS

Employment Verification State Workforce Agency
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)



Fact Sheet
September 25, 2007
E-VERIFY

Strengthening the Employment Eligibility Document Review Process for the Nation’s Employers

• E-Verify (formerly known as the Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility Verification Program) is an Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administers the program.

• E-Verify is free and voluntary and is the best means available for determining employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security Numbers. The program provides participating employers an automated Internet-based resource to verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees. Employment eligibility verification queries authorization checks on all newly hired employees, including U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens, can be run against SSA and DHS databases. Through this process, E-Verify assists employers in maintaining a legal workforce and protects jobs for authorized U.S. workers.

• USCIS began testing a photo screening tool enhancement to EEV and formally launched it on Sept. 17, 2007. The tool allows a participating employer to check the photos on Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) or Permanent Resident Cards (green card) against images stored in USCIS databases. The goal of the photo tool is to help employers determine whether the document presented reasonably relates to the individual and contains a valid photo. The former program did not include this identity fraud component.

• More than 23,000 employers are currently using the E-Verify program to verify that their new hires are authorized to work in the United States. There is no charge to participate. The President’s FY08 budget request includes $30 million to expand and improve E-Verify.

• Employers can register for E-Verify on-line at www.dhs.gov/E-Verify. The site provides instructions for completing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) needed to officially register for the program.

• Once registered, employers use E-Verify by entering information captured on the Employment Eligibility Verification form (I-9). E-Verify compares employee information against more than 425 million records in the SSA database and more than 60 million records stored in the DHS database. Currently, 93 percent of an employer’s queries are instantly verified as work authorized.

• The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) first authorized the program. The Basic Pilot Extension and Expansion Act of 2003 extended E-Verify until November 2008. Employers can obtain additional information about E-Verify by visiting www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.




E-Verify User Manual April 2008 Rev.