E-Verify Mandatory for Federal Contractors

An Executive Order signed by President George W. Bush on June 6 will require federal government contractors to use E-Verify, the electronic employment verification system operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).  To effect implementation of the Executive Order, a proposed rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was published in the Federal Register on June 12.  Following a public comment period that ends on August 11 and before the end of the year, a final regulation is expected to be put in place.  By some estimates, 200,000 federal government contractors will be affected and potentially millions of their employees.  For more information, see Ogletree Deakins’ June 10, 2008 E-Alert or the Department of Homeland Security’s press release on the topic.

Note: This article was published in the June 2008 issue of the Immigration eAuthority.