What’s New with E-Verify

Information for Federal Contractors

Federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to begin using the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ E-Verify system starting May 21, 2009, to verify their employees’ eligibility to legally work in the United States.   The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council amended the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to reflect this change.

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. You can read frequently asked questions about this new rule in the link below.

USCIS Revises Employment Eligibility Verification Form

USCIS announced that it has submitted an interim final rule to the Federal Register that will streamline the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) process.  For more information click the USCIS Revises Employment Eligibility Verification Form link below.

Introduction of the U.S. Passport Card

The U.S. Department of State began production of the U.S. passport card on July 14, 2008.  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.  For more information, please see the U.S. Passport Card link located in the Related Links section of this page.

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For more information on this or any other topics contact the offices of J. David Peña at 305.373.5550 or info@myvisausa.com.