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 initiate an employment verification pilot program. Under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), USCIS operates the E-Verify program, previously referred to as Basic Pilot. E-Verify implements the legal requirements in IIRIRA by allowing any U.S. employer to verify the employment eligibility of all its newly hired employees.

E-Verify has an average of 1,400 new employer enrollments per week. E-Verify is a voluntary program for most employers, but mandatory for some, such as employers with Federal contracts or subcontracts that contain the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause and employers in certain states.

E-Verify is an Internet-based system operated by DHS in partnership with SSA that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.

E-Verify works by electronically comparing the information on an employee’s Form I-9 with SSA and DHS records to verify the identity and employment eligibility of each newly hired employee.

When a new Client is enrolled, E-Verify Employer Agents are required to print and provide to the Client both the English and Spanish ‘Notice of E-Verify Participation’ and the ‘Right to Work Poster;’ displayed in the figure below. Both notices must be clearly displayed by the Client at the hiring location. The notices are found in the E-Verify user webpage in ‘View Essential Resources’ (see Section 1.2). Notices/posters that cannot be displayed should be printed and distributed to every job applicant.

At this time, an employer can verify the employment eligibility of only one person at a time within E-Verify. All new, temporary, seasonal, and rehire employees must be entered into E-Verify individually.

E-Verify is free and the best means available to determine the employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers (SSNs). E-Verify is currently available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)

Public Law 99-603 (Act of November 6, 1986), sought to eliminate employment opportunity as a key incentive for illegal migration to the United States. IRCA mandates that all U.S. employers must ensure that all employees hired after November 6, 1986, are eligible to work in the United States and possess valid work authorization documents. It provides sanctions against employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers or discriminate against employees based on citizenship status, national origin or employment status.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

A legal document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It constitutes a legally binding contract when properly executed (e.g., signed) by all the parties. Employers that participate in E-Verify must sign the E-Verify MOU between the employer, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.