E-Verify Announces New Security Enhancement to Deter Social Security Number Fraud

On November 18, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas announced a change to the E-Verify program that will help combat identity fraud by identifying and deterring fraudulent use of Social Security numbers (SSNs) for employment eligibility verification. E-Verify can now lock Social Security numbers that appear to have been used fraudulently.

E-Verify is a free, web-based service offered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA), that allows employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of new employees by checking the information provided by the employee on the Form I-9 against information contained in the DHS and SSA databases. This new E-Verify enhancement provides a critical safeguard to protect against identity theft and fraud by implementing a system to detect and prevent potential fraudulent use of SSNs to gain work authorization.

For example, an employer may enter information provided by an employee on a Form I-9 into E-Verify that appears valid, such as a matching name, date of birth and Social Security number. However, this information may have in fact been stolen, borrowed or purchased from another individual. Prior to this security upgrade, the employee information would likely have passed through the SSA database and received an "Employment Authorized" result in E-Verify and the employer may have been unaware of any issue of potential identity theft or fraud. Now as a result of this upgrade, just like a credit card company will lock a card that appears to have been stolen, USCIS may lock SSNs in E-Verify that appear to have been used fraudulently. USCIS states that it will "use a combination of algorithms, detection reports and analysis to identify patters of fraudulent SSN use and then lock the number in E-Verify."

If an employee attempts to use a locked SSN, E-Verify will generate a Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC). The employee receiving the TNC will have the opportunity to contest the finding by visiting a local Social Security Administration (SSA) field office. If the SSA field officer confirms that the employee's identity matches the SSN, the TNC will be converted to "Employment Authorized" status in E-Verify. Employers will likely see an increase in the number of employees receiving TNCs, depending on the number of locked SSNs. E-Verify has not indicated that the TNC process will change as a result of this security enhancement.

In order to assist victims of identity theft, USCIS is encouraging employees who are able to successfully confirm their identities to call USCIS so they can learn more about available resources on identity theft and fraud prevention. More information on the new E-Verify security enhancement can be found on the USCIS website. We will provide further legal updates as more information is released about this E-Verify upgrade.