U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has launched a new online resource providing employer and employee guidance relating to the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form. I-9 Central provides employers with an online resource with information on I-9 completion, examples of acceptable documents, I-9 retention and storage guidance and more. Employers also can pose questions through a 1-800 number and via email. Employer personnel who frequently deal with I-9 issues should list save I-9 Central as a “Favorite” in their website browser. It provides much of the same information found in the Form M-274 Handbook for Employers, an essential resource for I-9 guidance. I-9 Central provides employers with an alternative way to access I-9 information and also the opportunity to pose questions not otherwise answered.
This month, USCIS also rolled out E-Verify website content in Spanish. Employers can find essential E-Verify guidance in Spanish. Perhaps the most important feature now in Spanish are instructions for employees on how to resolve a tentative non-confirmation (TNC). Occurring in approximately three percent of all E-Verify inquiries, a TNC occurs when E-Verify is unable to match employee information with its database of employment authorized persons. In such cases, employees commonly need to visit a Social Security Administration office to resolve any discrepancy. The new Spanish website content will thus be a valuable resource for employees needing to resolve a TNC.
