E-Verify is an Internet-based program which allows employers to verify the work authorization of new hires. It was established by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA). It compares information from an employee’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment eligibility. Why E-Verify? Why do people come to the United States illegally? They come here to work. The public can, and should, choose to reward companies that follow the law and employ a legal workforce. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is working to stop unauthorized employment. By using E-Verify to determine the employment eligibility of their employees, companies become part of the solution in addressing this problem. Employment eligibility verification is good business and it’s the law. Who Uses E-Verify? More than 288,000 employers, large and small, across the United States use E-Verify to check the employment eligibility of their employees, with about 1,200 new businesses signing up each week. While participation in E-Verify is voluntary for most businesses, some companies may be required by state law or federal regulation to use E-Verify. For example, most employers in Arizona, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee are required to use E-Verify. E-Verify is mandatory for employers with federal contracts or subcontracts that contain the Federal Acquisition Regulation E-Verify clause. E-Verify authorization program only applies to future hires and not existing employees unless the employer is awarded any contract, subcontract, grant, or incentive by the federal or state government, any political subdivision thereof, or a state –funded entity. Then only the employees that will be working under this contract are E-Verified. Once an employee has been E-Verified they are not required to go through the process a second time. How Does E-Verify Work? All employers must first complete an I-9 form for every new hire, within three business days of the date the employee starts work. Employers may not begin the I-9 process until after the individual is hired. The employer and newly-hired employee jointly complete the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form. The form asks for employee’s name and date of birth; social security number; citizenship status; an A number or I-94 number if applicable; documentation to establish work authorization; and proof of identity and expiration date, if applicable. Employees may choose from several documents to prove identity and authorization to work, such as a U.S. passport or unexpired employment authorization card, or a combination of driver’s license and social security card. Documents must appear genuine. An employer then enters information from the I-9 form into the E-Verify system, where it is compared against 455 million records in the Social Security Administration (SSA) database and 80 million records in the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) immigration databases. Most inquiries are resolved within 72 hours. Some inquires can’t be confirmed instantly by DHS (“tentative nonconfirmation notices”) due to changes in citizenship status, name changes (e.g., marriage/divorce), or typographical errors. To resolve a nonconfirmation notice, the employee must visit an SSA office or call DHS toll-free. The employee has eight federal workdays to start resolving the case.  About one-half of those who receive a nonconfirmation notice contest the notice. Of these, about half of the employees will follow up.