< back
INS LAUNCHES COMPUTERIZED EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION EXPERIMENT PROGRAM
The INS is testing a program which allows employers to verify citizenship, permanent residency status, or employment authorization via a computer. The pilot program involves 80,000 employees working form more than 200 small firms in Southern California. The program will be coupled with intensified investigations of workplaces in the area. The investigations will target employers who fail to comply with employment verification provisions. Next year, the INS will also test three other methods for quickly verifying employment eligibility and the computer verification project will be extended to 1,000 employer. 
After the employer completes the I-9 employment verification form and reviews the employee's documents, the employer then dials up the INS' Alien Status Verification Index database and types in the employee's "A" number, name, date of birth, hiring date and employer access code. The employer receives either the message Employment Authorized" or "Institute Secondary Verification." Instituting secondary verification means that the INS must search additional databases. This process is not supposed to take more than three days. If verification cannot be confirmed, the employee will have 30 days to resolve his or her immigration status.