The E-Verify System is a system which allows employers to verify the employment authorization of their employees and to keep track of employment authorization. In the past year, the USCIS has made changes to the E-Verify system to make it more effective and to address issues of illegal immigration.
The E-Verify System was developed in response to concerns about illegal immigration. In part, undocumented immigration is encouraged by a supply and demand system that includes employers. Employers know that they can get cheap labor by hiring undocumented workers and some employers even seek out such workers to cut costs. In this way, employers contribute in a substantial way to the 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants currently believed to live in the US. Undocumented workers affect availability of US jobs and often face poor working conditions and wages that are well below legal minimum wage. It is therefore in everyone’s best interests to stop this practice of illegal work.
Even employers who wish to hire workers authorized by US immigration to work in this country face problems. The USCIS sometimes grants temporary work authorization and employers have a hard time keeping track of which workers have current authorization and which have authorization set to expire. As well, employers must ask employees for employment authorization, a process that can be time-consuming and can lead to miscommunication. The E-Verify system developed by Homeland Security and the USCIS gives employers a standardized and simple system for verifying employee employment authorization and tracking any problems.
One new development of the E-Verify System is E-Verify Self Check option. This allows employees to check their own employment status before applying for a job. This fast and free search allows job hunters to address any authorization issues before they apply for employment and resolve them with US Immigration authorities and the USCIS before applying for employment. This is also important because in the past the E- Verify System mistakenly flagged some qualified workers as unauthorized to work in the US. Improvements to the E-Verify System ensure that the system is more accurate and such mistakes occur less often. However, the E-Verify Self Check System also gives employees the chance to ensure that no mistakes have been made in their own case.
In addition to the E-Verify Self-check System, the USCIS and Homeland Security have made other improvements to the system. For example, the online user interface of the E-Verify System is now easier to use and includes the latest security features to keep private data private. As well, E-Verify System can now help individuals verify US passport card and US passport photos, which addresses the issue of identity theft.