As reported previously on this blog, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) officially announced the opening of a new Verification Operations Center in Buffalo, NY. This center will employ approximately 135 people with the sole objective of performing immigration status verification for the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) and E-Verify systems. Specifically, the new center will run verification checks of employee work authorization status for companies enrolled in E-Verify, and it will confirm immigration status inquiries for government entities using SAVE. This is the first USCIS field office dedicated to monitoring compliance and ensuring the correct use of the SAVE and E-Verify programs. The Buffalo Verification Operations Center will spearhead USCIS's initiative to stop employers and third-party "investigation" companies from using E-Verify improperly. This development is the government's attempt to improve the integrity of both SAVE and E-Verify. These efforts may also facilitate the reduction of potential discriminatory effect in the application of E-Verify procedures and safeguard privacy interests.

USCIS Acting Deputy Director Michael Aytes, who was present at the opening ceremony of the Buffalo center, remarked on the growth of E-Verify and SAVE, stating "participation in the E-Verify and SAVE programs has increased dramatically, particularly in E-Verify with a five-fold increase." On behalf of the administration, he sent a clear message to employers and others that E-Verify and SAVE are here to stay, and that the usage of both programs will be monitored closely to ensure they are being used properly. It is recommended that employers participating in E-Verify check that they are in compliance. Examples of noncompliance with employers' E-Verify obligations include:

• Enrolling in E-Verify and signing a Memorandum of Understanding, and then failing to run all new employees through the system.
• Erroneously using the system for pre-screening purposes.
• Failing to process new employees through E-Verify within the three-day period from start of employment.

Interestingly, the USCIS announcement stated that 170,000 employers in approximately 650,000 worksites are participating in E-Verify, with a 97% automatic confirmation of employment eligibility. USCIS also reported that 300 agencies (including 175 state entities, 30 state DMVs, 64 local agencies, and 28 federal agencies) are now participating in SAVE, with about 11.6 million inquiries run through the system in FY2009.

Enforcement actions are on the rise -- significantly. Employers should seriously assess overall corporate immigration compliance; conduct internal audits of I-9 records; determine the effect immigration compliance will have upon other employment-related considerations (such as wage and hour and labor relations concerns); and, finally, review E-Verify obligations immediately.

This entry was written by Ian Macdonald.