The Feds combine the eVerify and Form I-9 into one digital process.
E-Verify NextGen—scheduled for incremental release in 2024—integrates the Form I-9 process with E-Verify, the federal government’s electronic employment verification system, revolutionizing the employment verification process for the business community!
This new combined system from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will shift much of the process away from employers and onto the new hires themselves. Currently, employers must complete a new Form I-9 for each new hire and re-enter the information into E-Verify if they use that program.
Please note that the new E-Verify NextGen process will not replace the standard version for the time being. Employers can choose which process they will utilize in the coming year—the current EV process or the NextGen version.
What is the new E-Verify NextGen?
E-Verify NextGen is an internet-based service, so to increase efficiency, a newly hired employee will set up a secure electronic account at myE-Verify, automatically sending their information and documentation to their E-Verify participating employer.
Here’s how it works:
- The new hire creates a myE-Verify personal account.
- New Hire completes forms and uploads the required eligibility documents. The new hire electronically enters their biographical information, citizenship or immigration status, and acceptable identity documents into their myE-Verify personal account.
- Verification Issue: If there is an issue, new hires will be notified if further action is needed to determine their employment eligibility, thus removing the employer’s primary role in the resolution process. Employees will receive a notification and instructions to take specific steps to resolve those E-Verify issues. These next steps are to be completed by the New Hire and then communicated directly to the government without requiring the employer to be an intermediary.
- Verification Confirmed:
Employer: The employer will be notified if the system confirms the employee’s employment eligibility. The submitted information will create a completed Form I-9 for the employer to download and store.
Employee: Employees will be notified of a satisfactory verification. Under the E-Verify NextGen system, employees can carry their verification status to the next job. Employees can save their information in their myE-Verify account and easily update it for new employers, making job transitions smoother and more efficient. Currently, employees and employers must complete a new Form I-9 and enter a new E-Verify case each time the employee starts a new job.
- At this point, the employer can finish the verification by examining the documents. This can be done remotely, but only if they are a qualified user of the Alternative Verification eVerify option. To qualify for the alternative procedure, an employer must:
- Be currently enrolled in and continue to participate in E-Verify.
- Have performed a remote examination of an employee’s documents between March 20, 2020, and July 31, 2023.
- Been enrolled in E-Verify at the time they completed the Form I-9 for that employee.
- Created a case in E-Verify for that employee (except for re-verification).
Employers who do not meet all four requirements must perform an in-person physical examination of documents.
Cardinal Services is an official Qualified Alternative Verification eVerify User
If you use any of Cardinal’s hiring services, we automatically perform Form I-9 and eVerify on every new hire or rehire we process. We offer the above information for those newsletter recipients who need to stay informed on the latest federal labor laws and protocols.