As you may or may not be aware, parts of the federal government officially shut down at 12:01 a.m. Friday after Congress failed to come to an agreement to fully fund normal operations. This includes approximately 800,000 federal workers, national parks, and many government websites, including E-Verify. While E-Verify is unavailable, no one will be able to access their E-Verify account. As a result, we will be unable to:
- Enroll any new company in E-Verify
- Verify employment eligibility
- View or take action on any case
- Add, delete, or edit any user ID, passwords, and company information
We understand that E-Verify’s unavailability may have a significant impact on your company’s operations. To minimize the burden on both employers and employees, the following policies have been implemented by E-Verify:
The three-day rule for E-Verify cases is suspended for cases affected by the shutdown. We’ll provide additional guidance once they reopen. This does NOT affect the Form I-9 requirement: Employers must still complete the Form I-9 no later than the third business day after an employee starts work for pay.
The time period during which employees may resolve tentative non-confirmations will be extended. Days the federal government is closed will not count towards the eight federal government workdays the employee has to go to SSA or contact DHS. E-Verify will provide additional time once they reopen.
For federal contractors complying with the federal contractor rule, please contact your 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 an extended interim case status due to a federal government shutdown. Please contact us if you have any employees that fall into that category and need additional information.
We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to serving your E-Verify needs once they resume operations. We will notify you as soon as service resumes.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. We are equally burdened with this issue and hope that this government shutdown does not last long.
How to Simplify E-Verify, Shutdown or No Shutdown
E-Verify 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.
It’s the only service of its kind and verifies employees’ data against millions of government records and provides dependable results.
To simplify E-Verify, employers can partner with a provider who offers the technology and platform to make the process faster and easier—while avoiding costly fines. Fines for inaccurately completed I-9 Forms range from $300–$3000 per occurrence.
KRESS is a designated agent authorized by the Department of Homeland Security to perform I-9 employment authorization searches on behalf of its clients. You can count on our expertise in helping to facilitate your employment eligibility program. Contact KRESS to add E-Verify to your screening package.