March 23, 2011

E-Verify Goes Live with First Phase of Self Check for Individuals

E-Verify Self Check, an online tool created by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) went live today for individuals living in several states and the District of Columbia. Arizona, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Mississippi, and Virginia.

Self Check will allow individuals in the United States to check their employment eligibility status before seeking employment by comparing data entered by the individual to the DHS and Social Security Administration (SSA) records. USCIS anticipates that the Self Check tool will result in a decrease in E-Verify Tentative Non-Confirmations and other data mismatches, saving employers and individuals time and resources.

In the event that an individual’s employment eligibility can not be verified, the Self Check system will provide the individual with instructions on how to resolve potential data mismatches.

The Self Check system uses multiple security features to ensure data privacy and ensure that only the individual running the query can check his or her own employment eligibility.

Employers may not require potential employees to use Self Check to confirm their employment eligibility, and a Self Check query does not replace the query that E-Verify employers are required to run for each new hire. Furthermore, individuals may not use the E-Verify Self Check results as proof of work authorization for Form I-9 purposes.

Individuals currently living in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, Virginia, and the District of Columbia can use the Self Check system here. Some users may be unable to access Self Check due to IP address restrictions, however USCIS has stated it will release the IP address restriction in the near future to allow all residents of qualifying jurisdictions to access the system.

USCIS intends to expand use of the Self Check tool to 16 states during fiscal year 2012 and nationwide soon thereafter, as personnel and budgetary resources allow.

More information on the E-Verify Self Check system is available in a DHS Fact Sheet and on the DHS Blog.