The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it expanded the E-Verify Self Check program to include 16 more states, as well as began offering the service in Spanish and English. The Associated Builders & Contractors reports workers in 21 states and the District of Columbia now can check their own employment status.
When individuals enter their personal information into the E-Verify Self Check program, they are informed of any mismatches between that information and the Department of Homeland Security or Social Security Administration records. If a discrepancy is found, Self Check will inform the user of how to correct the mismatch. To prevent abuse, E-Verify Self Check will confirm users’ identities through a quiz based on credit information.
USCIS is rolling out the program in phases. It has been open to residents of Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Mississippi, Virginia and the District of Columbia since March. Now the service also is available to workers who maintain an address and are physically located in California, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington.
The program is free and voluntary, meaning an employer cannot require an E-Verify Self Check as proof of work authorization. USCIS cautioned that a worker who is asked by an employer to conduct a Self Check would have grounds for contacting the Justice Department’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices.
Since 2009, the original employer-based E-Verify program has been mandatory for federal contractors to use when checking a person’s employment eligibility. The program remains voluntary for non-federal contractors unless required by state law. Read More.