COVID-19 pandemic is an evolving situation and has tangled the world. Governments and businesses are racing to respond. Efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19 (corona virus) have had a significant impact on US employers who provide immigration sponsorship (both temporary and permanent) for employees so that immigration compliance can still be maintained, and current noncitizen employees may continue working in the US without interruption.

Various changes in immigration processes, suspension of government services, and office closings due to this global healthcare crisis as it relates to immigration issues. But these impacts are being felt more generally by all employers, in the context of Form I-9 compliance, government audits, and the immigration requirements applicable to all employers.
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E-Verify Extends Timeframe For Taking Action to Resolve Tentative Nonconfirmations

On March 20, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would exercise discretion to defer the physical presence requirements associated with Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) in relation to hiring and re-verifying employees. In a related development, DHS announced temporary policy changes to minimize burdens on employers and employees in relation to E-Verify compliance during the COVID-19 National Emergency.

• E-Verify is extending the timeframe to take action to resolve Social Security Administration (SSA) Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs) due to SSA office closures to the public. DHS has yet to provide the specific duration of the extended timeframe.

• E-Verify is also extending the timeframe to take action to resolve the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) TNCs in limited circumstances when an employee cannot resolve a TNC due to public or private office closures.
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New Temporary Policies -

E-Verify has implemented the following policies to minimize the burden on both employers and employees:

• Employers are still required to create cases for their new hires within three business days from the date of hire.

• Employers must use the hire date from the employee's Form I-9 when creating the E-Verify case. If case creation is delayed due to COVID-19 precautions, select "Other" from the drop-down list and enter "COVID-19" as the specific reason.

• Employers may not take any adverse action against an employee because the E-Verify case is in interim case status, including while the employee's case is in extended interim case status.
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IMPORTANT:

You must notify your employees about their TNC result as soon as possible. After your employee is notified of their TNC and decides whether to take action to resolve the TNC, the employee should acknowledge the decision on the Further Action Notice, and the employer should notify E-Verify of their employee's decision. Employees who choose to take action to resolve a TNC are referred to as SSA and/or DHS. Employers may not take any adverse action against an employee because the E-Verify case is in interim case status, including while the employee's case is in extended interim case status.
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Customer Support and Account Access -

E-Verify Contact Center representatives are still available. Employers will still be able to access their E-Verify accounts and:

• Enroll in E-Verify

• Create E-Verify cases

• Add, delete or edit any user account

• Reset passwords

• Edit company information

• Terminate accounts

• Run reports or view any information about an account or case.
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E-Verify is Now on OnBlick -

With OnBlick, employers can eliminate all the work of entering every employee's data for E-Verify. OnBlick's integration with E-verify Web Services automates your work with a simple click. It will retrieve the corresponding employee's information and supporting documents from Form I-9 and auto-populate it in E-verify. This would save a lot of time for the employer and the hassle of manual data entry.

Employers can also create and submit the case(s) through OnBlick, which resolves the issue of multiple logins with the E-verify portal to create a case or check for updates. Employers can also handle the DHS/SSA TNC cases with guided workflows. Integrate with OnBlick today, and manage your E-Verify with ease.

To assist our clients, we have assembled information on various immigration-related corona virus issues and its temporary changes in the various law and policies. OnBlick will continue to track updates from the DHS and USCIS for any changes and will provide an update in case further guidance.