Under current federal immigration laws, U.S. companies can only employ people who may legally work in the United States — be they U.S. citizens or foreign citizens who have the necessary work authorization. Since 1986, employers have been required to collect and maintain documentation for every employee they hire, verifying their legal status to work. This is done by the ubiquitous Form I-9.
E-Verify, which was created in 1997 initially as a pilot program, is an enhancement to prevent undocumented people from gaining employment. E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows businesses to go online and quickly check a potential employee’s eligibility to work in the United States. E-Verify was created in part as a countermeasure to immigrants’ use of fraudulent documents necessary to support the declaration contained in Form I-9. E-Verify is fast and free, but the real question for employers is “Do I have to use it?”
