| By Jennifer Hopkins | August 26, 2004 |
In June, 2004, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a report to Congress on the "Basic Pilot" program for employment verification. The report was required by the Basic Pilot Program Extension and Expansion Act of 2003, which also mandates that the Basic Pilot be expanded to all 50 states by December 1, 2004.
What is the Basic Pilot program for Employment Verification?
In the Basic Pilot program, participating employers enter the I-9 form information into a computer system and transmit the information to the Federal government. Once the information is submitted by employers, it is compared with information on the Social Security Administration (SSA) database. If the information in both instances match and SSA records confirm work-authorization status, the employer is notified that the employee is verified. If the two sources of information are inconsistent, the employer is notified that the employee has received a tentative nonconfirmation finding. If the sources of information are consistent, but the SSA database does not confirm work-authorization, the employer-submitted information is then compared with a CIS database. This check may either result in immediate verification of the employee or further checks, possibly resulting in the issuance of a "tentative nonconfirmation."
When employers receive a "tentative nonconfirmation," they are required to notify the employee of the finding. The employee may then contest the finding within a given amount of time (typically 10 business days). During this time period, employers may not take any adverse actions against the employee based upon the "tentative nonconfirmation" finding. There are three circumstances under which employers are supposed to terminate the employment of employees:
- When employees indicate that they do not wish to contest the finding,
- When employees are found not to be work-authorized, or
- When employees receive final nonconfirmation findings.
Problems with the Basic Pilot Program
The USCIS report to Congress identifies and addresses three primary problems with the program:
1. An "unacceptably high" tentative nonconfirmation rate for foreign born work-authorized employees and was "higher than desirable" for U.S.-born employees. Consequences included increased burden for employees and employers, increased verification costs for the government, and unintentional discrimination.
Some solutions suggested in the report include:
- Improving federal database accuracy (SSA and DHS)
- Reducing immigration status verifier data entry errors
- Reducing employer data entry errors
2. Lack of full employer compliance with pilot requirements resulted in reduced effectiveness and contributed to discrimination against foreign-born employees.
Some solutions suggested in the report include:
- Improving employer training
- Instituting MIS reports for employers
- Enhancing federal monitoring of establishments
3. Many employers did not consider the pilot programs to be attractive, which "limited the extent to which a volunteer program could reduce unauthorized employment on a national basis."
Expansion of the Program
In December, the porogram will expand to all 50 states and become available to all U.S. employers. CIS hopes to increase volunteer participation by employers by that time.