USCIS Announces Self Check E-Verify Service Available in All 50 States

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced yesterday that Self Check, a free online service of E-Verify that allows workers to check their own employment eligibility status, is now available in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.

Self Check was developed through a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide individuals with a tool to check their own employment eligibility status and offer guidance on how to correct their DHS and SSA records. It is the first online E-Verify service offered directly to workers. Available in English and Spanish, Self Check enables individuals to enter the same information into Self Check that employers enter into E-Verify. Self Check can be used by anyone in the U.S. over the age of 16 to confirm his or her employment eligibility.

Self Check is a four-step process that requires a user to:

1. Enter his or her name, address, date of birth and social security number.
   
   
2. Answer demographic or financial questions – which could include information about past addresses, banks where the user does business, or other similar information – to confirm the identity of the user. The government will have no knowledge of the questions asked or the answers provided.
   
   
3. Provide information that will prove eligibility to work in the U.S., including the user's social security number and – based on the country of citizenship – immigration status and documentation information such as the user's Alien Registration Number, document number or I-94 number.
   
   
4. Submit the information. Once the user enters the information, Self Check will compare the user's information against the various government databases to determine work eligibility in the U.S.

Self Check has benefits for both U.S. workers and businesses. Self Check gives U.S. workers access to their employment eligibility status and takes the mystery out of the employment eligibility confirmation process. If a problem exists with an individual's employment eligibility records, Self Check explains how to resolve that issue prior to applying for a job. Self Check helps businesses by providing U.S. workers with the opportunity to ensure employment authorization records are accurate before getting a job. It improves employee understanding of the employment eligibility process.

Self Check was developed in response to a request by Congress to create a service that U.S. workers could use to check their own employment eligibility status completely separate from the employer focused E-Verify process. Self Check is the first online service offered directly to the U.S. workforce by the E-Verify program.

No employer may ever require someone to use Self Check – it is entirely voluntary. A positive Self Check result should not be a condition of membership to any group or organization and is not to be required for receipt of any benefit, service, or good from a federal, state or local agency, or any private organization.

We will continue to update you with any new developments regarding the E-Verify Self Check service. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact any of our immigration attorneys should you have questions regarding the service.