E-Verify Announces New Ability to Send Email Notifications Directly to Employees

On July 1, 2013, E-Verify introduced a new customer service enhancement which allows E-Verify to directly contact employees in the case of a Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC). The E-Verify system user interface has been updated to align with the new Form I-9, which now includes an optional field in Section 1 for employees to provide an email address.

Without advance notice to employers, E-Verify changed the employer's user interface to include a new email field. If an employee provides an email address in Section 1 of the Form I-9, there is an expectation by the E-Verify team that the employer will enter the email address into the new E-Verify field. According to E-Verify, the update was made "in an effort to provide increased transparency of the E-Verify process to workers."

Employees completing a Form I-9 are not required to complete the new email field in Section 1. However, if the employee does provide an email address, the E-Verify employer is now required to enter the email address, exactly as indicated on the Form I-9, in E-Verify when creating a case. If the employee does not include an email address in Section 1 of the Form I-9, but the employer has the employee's email address from another source, the employer should not enter the email address in E-Verify. The information entered into E-Verify should mirror the information provided on the Form I-9.

E-Verify will send automatic email notifications to employees at the email address entered in E-Verify in three circumstances:

• Concurrent with the employer's notification of the issuance of a TNC, E-Verify will send an automatic email to the employee email address notifying the employee of the TNC and advising the employee to contact the employer regarding the TNC.
• If the employee decides to contest the TNC, the employee has eight federal government working days to follow up with the appropriate federal agency, either the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If by day four of the eight-day period the employee has not yet followed up with the appropriate agency, E-Verify will send an automatic reminder email to the employee email address.
• In the case where a non-citizen or a naturalized U.S. citizen successfully resolves a DHS TNC after contacting the Department of Homeland Security, E-Verify will send an automatic courtesy email advising the employee to also update his/her records with the Social Security Administration. Records mismatched with DHS are also often mismatched at SSA. Should the employee be run through E-Verify by a new employer, an SSA TNC could result if the SSA records have not been updated.

From the employer perspective, the E-Verify TNC process is not changing. The only change for employers is the requirement to enter the email address from the Form I-9, if applicable, in E-Verify. Employers will not be copied on the emails sent to employees. The E-Verify User Manual has been updated and is available at www.uscis.gov/e-verify.

This change to E-Verify underscores the reasoning behind USCIS adding the email field to Section 1 of the newly revised Form I-9. The federal government has been trying to combat against situations where employers are not providing employees with proper notice of the TNC or sufficient time to address the TNC. This direct communication between E-Verify and the employee is designed to help ensure that those employees impacted by TNCs are able to fully exercise their rights in contesting such a finding and having appropriate access to a federal agency within the eight-day period.

Employers who fail to follow E-Verify procedures, including failure to enter the employee email address provided on the Form I-9, may be identified and investigated for any alleged noncompliance by the E-Verify Monitoring and Compliance Division. Reports of noncompliance may also lead to investigations or charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC).