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During the December-January government shutdown, E-Verify and its services are unavailable according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This temporary downtime affects both employers and employees, but until budget appropriations are resolved, not everything is changed.

Employers in construction won’t be able to create or act on E-Verify cases. Because of this, USCIS has suspended the “three-day rule” for creating cases. Companies also won’t be able to enroll, make account changes, or run reports.

It’s important for both employees and employers to note that employees won’t be able to resolve Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs) under the E-Verify Program. As a result, USCIS is also extending the time an employee has to resolve their TNC case and won’t count days during which E-Verify is unavailable. USCIS also isn’t permitting employers to take action against an employee with an E-Verify case in interim status until the program is restored.

USCIS has promised to give further guidance on the “three-day rule” and TNC cases once E-Verify resumes operations normally.

In the meantime, however, employers still need to complete Form I-9 by the third business day after an employee begins work. All Form I-9 requirements are unchanged by the government shutdown.

Read E-Verify’s full announcement »

Note: Payroll4Construction.com does not administer any aspect of the E-Verify program. Companies are responsible for ensuring their own compliance with E-Verify and Form I-9.