The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the expansion of “myE-Verify” to 16 states: California, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Washington.  

As we previously reported, myE-Verify was initially launched in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  myE-Verify is described as “a one-stop shop for employees to create and maintain secure personal accounts and access new features for identity protection” related to E-Verify, the Internet-based program that allows employers to compare information on an employee's Form I-9 with certain federal government records to verify identity and work authorization.  

With this expansion, current and prospective employees in these states can create myE-Verify accounts and utilize the “Self Lock” feature, which allows registered users to put a “lock” on their Social Security numbers to prevent unauthorized or fraudulent use in E-Verify.  These individuals will continue to have access to the nationally available “Self Check" feature allowing individuals to confirm their eligibility to work in the United States by entering the same information used by employers in performing E-Verify inquiries.  In addition, they will continue to have access to “myResources,” a nationwide resource that provides information on employer and employee rights under E-Verify. 

USCIS expects to continue rolling out myE-Verify to other states and eventually throughout the nation.  myE-Verify remains a voluntary program and, therefore, unless there is administration or USCISguidance to the contrary, employers should not require employees to participate in myE-Verify or produce proof of using it.