Next Version of E-Verify Will Bring Big Changes

The proposed features for the newest version of E-Verify would fundamentally change the way employment eligibility verification is conducted, according to a proposal from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

E-Verify NextGen—scheduled for release in 2024—integrates the Form I-9 process with E-Verify, the government’s electronic employment verification system, and shifts much of the process away from HR and to the new hires themselves.   

Employers must currently complete a new Form I-9 for each new hire and enter the information into E-Verify if they are enrolled in the program.

“The proposed changes are significant,” said John Fay, an attorney and director of product strategy at Equifax Workforce Solutions. Fay was able to participate in a demo of the product.

Using E-Verify NextGen, new hires would electronically enter their biographic information, citizenship or immigration status, and acceptable identity documents into E-Verify using their myEverify secure personal account. Once the employee’s identity and employment eligibility are confirmed by the system, the employer would be notified and can finish the verification by examining the documents—remotely, if taking advantage of the new alternative verification option. The submitted information will be used to create a completed Form I-9 available for download and storage by the employer.

The current process relies on employer participation to correctly enter information on the Form I-9 and then transcribe that information into E-Verify, a practice which is less secure and sometimes results in data entry errors which can result in E-Verify mismatches, Fay said.

“The idea behind NextGen is that the employee will be less likely to make a mistake with their own data,” he said.

In addition, new hires would be notified if further action is needed to determine their employment eligibility, removing the employer’s primary role in the mismatch resolution process. Employees would receive notification of and resolve E-Verify mismatches directly with the government without requiring the employer to be an intermediary. This would create a more secure and private process that can speed up case resolution, according to USCIS.

“The fact that employers are not involved in the process may sound appealing, but I know that employers have a vested interest in the verification process and will want to have a role in the process, so that could be an issue,” Fay said.  

Another new development is that employees would be able to carry their verification status with them when they change jobs. Currently, employees and employers must complete a new Form I-9 and enter a new E-Verify case—if an employer uses E-Verify—each time the employee starts a new job.

“A key feature of NextGen is to allow employees to save their information in their myE-Verify account to be used for future employers,” USCIS said. “Once they receive their unique reference code from a new employer, the employee can simply update their information if necessary and complete the NextGen process with their new employer.”

Fay said this feature—which still needs to be worked out in practice—is a common-sense approach. “If I’m a U.S. citizen and change jobs as much as some people do these days, why do I have to continually go through employment verification?” he asked.   

Overall, Fay said that E-Verify NextGen will be very useful for those employers still completing I-9s on paper. “For them, if they are also using E-Verify, it is a very manual process,” he said. “This will be a more seamless experience.”

But Fay said that he’s not sure if E-Verify NextGen is the best option for larger employers because it doesn’t offer everything that an electronic I-9 system does.

“Without a true electronic I-9 system, you still have to store the forms somewhere, you still have to do reverifications, you still have to make corrections and purge forms,” he said. “NextGen does not do any of those things. For many larger organizations, the electronic I-9 process is connected to the onboarding technology, the applicant tacking system, the payroll provider, which are all part of an integrated workflow. NextGen is not there yet but it’s good to see the government is moving in that direction.”

E-Verify Required for Some

E-Verify is voluntary except for federal contractors and in certain states which require all employers to use it, including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. But evidence shows that E-Verify compliance is rarely enforced at the state level.

Those employers not using E-Verify will still be required to complete the Form I-9 for new hires.

Experts believe that the process enhancements included in NextGen are meant to be an incentive for more employers to voluntarily use the system.

“The government is absolutely signaling to employers to consider using E-Verify because it can make the onboarding experience smoother,” Fay said. “It also plugs in nicely with the new alternative virtual procedure.”  

E-Verify NextGen will not replace the standard version of E-Verify for the time being and E-Verify employers will be able to choose which process they will utilize—the current E-Verify process or the NextGen version.