The new states are California, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Washington. As of its initial launch in March 2011, Self-Check was made available in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

In addition, Self-Check is now available in Spanish.

Employers, keep your employees informed of their rights and obligations under the E-Verify employment eligibility verification check by obtaining and posting a copy of  our E-Verify Right to Work Notice Poster.

“I-9 Central is the latest in our ongoing efforts to better serve the 7.5 million employers who use Form I-9 every time they hire an employee,” said USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas. “It provides critical information for all employers–whether they hire a single employee or hundreds–in an accessible, intuitive and comprehensive online format.”

The launch of I-9 Central follows the introduction of other important USCIS employment-related resources. These resources include E-Verify Self-Check, a service launched in March that allows workers and job seekers in the United States to check their own employment eligibility status online, and an updated “Handbook for Employers: Instructions for Completing Form I-9 (M-274)” published earlier this year.

However, if an applicant submitted perfectly valid documents (passport, driver's license,social security card, visa, and so on) but E-Verify failed to vouch for one or more of them, that person was then left in a quandary, scrambling to fix what went wrong with nary a recourse for help.

To help remedy this predicament, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on March 18 will launch an E-Verify Self-Check system online so individuals can verify their documents in advance of any job offer—and then fix what might be wrong.

Employers, keep your employees informed of their rights under this program by purchasing and displaying Personnel Concepts' E-Verify Right to Work Notice Poster. Get yours today.

Under its new strategic plan for 2010-2016, OFCCP intends to focus on issues over which it has direct enforcement powers, which it did not with the form I-9.

Meanwhile, ICE officials have announced that they will be sending out 500 to 700 notices of inspection (NOI) during the next few weeks as the agency continues its wide sweep of auditing businesses for I-9 compliance.

All employers must complete and retain I-9 eligibility forms on all employees to prove that their workforce has the legal right to work in the United States. I-9 compliance is a serious matter, so visit Personnel Concepts’ Web section on I-9 Compliance today for a variety of forms, posters, and guidance manuals to ensure your adherence to the law.

“U.S. passport photo matching is another in the long line of enhancements we have made to improve the integrity of the E-Verify system,” said Director Mayorkas. “Adding U.S. passport photos expands our current photo matching efforts and will play a significant role in preventing and detecting the use of fraudulent documents—all part of major anti-fraud initiatives undertaken by the Department.

About 10 percent of new hires present passports when they undergo the required employment eligibility verification process based on the USCIS form 1-9. Employers can use the voluntary and free E-Verify system to help them complete the process and ensure its accuracy.

The Personnel Concepts Web site maintains a complete I-9 Compliance section, where you can find various kits and posters to ensure your adherence to the law.

According to the USCIS clarification, the first day of work is not included in the three days. Therefore, if an employee starts work on Monday, the I-9 is not due until Thursday.

However, if the new hire’s employer is using the E-Verify electronic database system, the date that the employer enters the new hire’s name into E-Verify counts as the first day even if the person isn’t on the job yet. Perhaps because of this, the USCIS has also just added a drop-down menu so users can choose a reason for the delay if the verification takes place after three days. 

Personnel Concepts offers a comprehensive I-9 Verification section on its Web site where customers can find a variety of products to help them with both the verification process and the use of E-Verify.

E-Verify is an extension of the former Basic Pilot program that allows employers to check the work-in-the-U.S. eligibility status of new hires by going online and verifying information they supply against databases at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Social Security system, and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).

The changes take place starting June 13, 2010, and officials say the redesign and reimplementation will make the verification process intuitive and "as easy as 1-2-3."

Federal contractors and subcontractors are generally requiredd to employ E-Verify, and in addition several states have mandated the system’s use for various categories of  employers as well.

Employers, make sure your employees understand their rights and obligations under the online program. Obtain and post today a copy of Personnel Concepts’ E-Verify Right-to-Work Notice Poster.

The answer –it is a big deal–has been driven home forcefully to management at Columbia Farms in Columbia, S.C.

After an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in 2008 discovered hundreds of illegal immigrants working at the poultry plant, most of the workers were deported, dozens of others were tried and sentenced to jail time for using fake documents, and two of the farms’ managers were criminally charged.

The two managers escaped the noose, so to speak, when the company recently agreed to a $1.5 million plea agreement that will require the accused to undergo training. The company itself, in agreeing to reform its hiring practice to legal standards and enroll in the E-Verify program, also must hire an on-site compliance officer and contract with an external auditing firm to monitor its employment practices.

The I-9 form from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is required of all new hires and is used to verify their legal status to work in the United States through the submission of identifying documents. E-Verify is a voluntary online program that can be used to check people’s records at the Social Security Administration and USCIS to verify their right to work in the states.

In short, the I-9 process is an important one. Fortunately, Personnel Concepts has developed a comprehensive I-9 Compliance Kit to help employers and human resource personnel maintain proper I-9 verifications. It is a big deal.

The Bush-era "no match" rule gave employers three months to straighten out mismatched employee Social Security numbers or immigration documents that conflicted with what’s on record in D.C. After three months, the employers would have to fire those employees who couldn’t produce evidence of proper documentation (presumably because they’re using fake documents and numbers to cover up their illegal immigrant status).

Predictably for the Obama administration, the "no match" reversal was hailed by union supporters, which is somewhat ironic since unions just as predictably fear lower-cost labor as represented by undocumented workers, but the unions are engaging in a trade-off for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).

"The no-match program was a flawed and ineffective enforcement tool that would have hurt U.S. citizens and other authorized workers," said Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO.

No doubt.

As for the E-Verify extension that has long been opposed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups (that rely on undocumented workers for cheap labor), even those who might otherwise cheer the extension saw a Trojan Horse in its midst.

Said a statement by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the extension is "further evidence of the Obama administration’s and the congressional leadership’s effort to raise a smokescreen while it dismantles all effective controls against illegal immigration."

No doubt.

Stay tuned to see what’s really going to transpire on the immigration front, provided the health care reform front ever recedes from center stage.