E-Verify and the Federal Government Shutdown: What Should Employers Do?

If you are an E-Verify user, today may be frustrating and confusing for you and your business practices. As part of the recommended best practices for immigration compliance, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) suggests each employer use E-Verify.

Today, however, E-Verify is unavailable to employers due to the federal government shutdown. We have had phone calls from clients asking what to do since they are unable to use E-Verify in compliance with ICE Best Practices. Does this mean employers have to shut down as well? Certainly not.

What We Recommend

If you plan to hire employees while the federal government is shutdown, the best thing to do is to print out the E-Verify webpage stating that E-Verify is currently unavailable and keep the printout in the employee file. This shows that E-Verify was unavailable when the employee was hired. When E-Verify is back up and running, then use it to verify the employment eligibility status of the new employee.

To learn more about immigration compliance, E-Verify, and ICE Best Practices, view our training schedule. Judith Robinson Corporate Immigration Attorney