E-Verify Is Down, but I-9s Are Up
Employers who attempted to access E-Verify during the week of October 2 were stopped by the following error message: “E-Verify is currently unavailable due to a government shutdown.” This error message raised several questions for employers, specifically whether Form I-9 requirements were suspended as well. This concern was answered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) guidance, which confirms that the government shutdown does NOT affect Form I-9 requirements. Employers MUST continue to complete Section 1 of Form I-9 no later than the first day of employment and complete Section 2 within three business days thereafter.
While Form I-9 requirements are not impacted, E-Verify remains unavailable and employers are prohibited from:
- Enrolling any company in E-Verify;
- Verifying employment eligibility;
- Viewing or taking action on any case;
- Adding, deleting or editing any User ID;
- Resetting passwords;
- Editing company information;
- Terminating an account;
- Running reports; and
- Viewing “Essential Resources” within the E-Verify database (however these resources can still be viewed here).
E-Verify Customer Support and related services are closed, and webinars and training sessions are cancelled. E-Verify Self Check and telephone and email support are unavailable as well. Importantly, during the shutdown, employees are unable to resolve Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs).
In an effort to minimize the burden of E-Verify’s unavailability, USCIS implemented the following policies:
- The requirement to create an E-Verify case within three business days after the first day of employment is suspended for cases affected by the shutdown.
- The time period during which employees may resolve TNCs will be extended, as the days the government is closed will not count toward the timeframe during which an employee must visit the Social Security Administration or contact the Department of Homeland Security.
- Federal contractors complying with the federal contractor rule should contact their contracting officer to inquire about extending deadlines.
- Employers may not take any adverse action against an employee because of an E-Verify interim case status, including while the employee’s case is in extended interim case status due to the government shutdown.
USCIS will provide additional guidance when the shutdown ends. In the interim, employers should continue to comply with all Form I-9 requirements and prepare to resume E-Verify operations immediately when the government reopens.
If you have any questions about Form I-9 or E-Verify procedures during the government shutdown, please contact Michael Kim at 317-977-1418 or mkim@wp.hallrender.com, Natalie Murphy at 317-977-1481 or nmurphy@wp.hallrender.com or your regular Hall Render attorney.
