USCIS and DHS Statement:
“Federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to begin using the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ E-Verify system starting Jan. 15, 2009, to verify their employees’ eligibility to legally work in the United States.”
“The new rule implements Executive Order 12989, as amended by President George W. Bush on June 6, 2008, directing federal agencies to require that federal contractors agree to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their employees. The amended Executive Order reinforces the policy, first announced in 1996, that the federal government does business with companies that have a legal workforce. This new rule requires federal contractors to agree, through language inserted into their federal contracts, to use E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all persons hired during a contract term, and to confirm the employment eligibility of federal contractors’ current employees who perform contract services for the federal government within the United States.
Federal contracts awarded and solicitations issued after Jan. 15, 2009 will include a clause committing government contractors to use E-Verify. The same clause will also be required in subcontracts over $3,000 for services or construction. Contracts exempt from this rule include those that are for less than $100,000 and those that are for commercially available off-the-shelf items. Companies awarded a contract with the federal government will be required to enroll in E-Verify within 30 days of the contract award date. They will also need to begin using the E-Verify system to confirm that all of their new hires and their employees directly working on federal contracts are authorized to legally work in the United States.”
Necessary documents to verify the eligibility for an employee:
A U.S. passport (unexpired or expired);
A Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551);
An unexpired foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp;
An unexpired Employment Au¬thorization Document that con¬tains a photograph (Form I-766, I-688, I-688A, or I-688B); and
An unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired Arrival-De¬parture Record (Form I-94) for nonimmigrant aliens authorized to work for a specific employer.
In addition to these documents, in July 2008, the U.S. Department of State began production of the U.S. passport card. USCIS states that:
“The passport card may be used by those entering the U.S. by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. The passport card is a valid passport that attests to the U.S. citizenship and identity of the bearer and is acceptable as a List A document for the Form I-9. The passport card may also be used in E-Verify if it is presented to an employer for the Form I-9. “
There will be a new I-9 form to be released and found on at www.uscis.gov 45 days after publication in the Federal Register. You can find an extensive explanation what the new form will include in the Question and Answers document, downloadable here.
USCIS also posts FAQ on e-verify on its website.
Optimum HR Systems will continue to inform you in changes in the immigration legislation, as they become available. In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact us or to post a comment/question in the form below.
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