179 
ers voluntarily electing to participate in the E- 
Verify Program described in section 403(a) of 
the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 
note) before such date, as well as by other em-
ployers seeking voluntary early compliance. 
‘‘(5) 
COPYING
OF
DOCUMENTATION
PER-
MITTED.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, the person or entity may copy a document pre-
sented by an individual pursuant to this subsection 
and may retain the copy, but only (except as other-
wise permitted under law) for the purpose of com-
plying with the requirements of this subsection. 
‘‘(6) LIMITATION ON USE OF FORMS.—A form 
designated or established by the Secretary of Home-
land Security under this subsection and any infor-
mation contained in or appended to such form, may 
not be used for purposes other than for enforcement 
of this Act and any other provision of Federal crimi-
nal law. 
‘‘(7) GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 
provided in this subsection, a person or entity 
is considered to have complied with a require-
ment of this subsection notwithstanding a tech-
180 
nical or procedural failure to meet such require-
ment if there was a good faith attempt to com-
ply with the requirement. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION IF FAILURE TO CORRECT 
AFTER
NOTICE.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 
apply if— 
‘‘(i) the failure is not de minimus; 
‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity has explained to the person or entity 
the basis for the failure and why it is not 
de minimus; 
‘‘(iii) the person or entity has been 
provided a period of not less than 30 cal-
endar days (beginning after the date of the 
explanation) within which to correct the 
failure; and 
‘‘(iv) the person or entity has not cor-
rected the failure voluntarily within such 
period. 
‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR PATTERN OR PRAC-
TICE VIOLATORS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 
apply to a person or entity that has engaged or 
is engaging in a pattern or practice of violations 
of subsection (a)(1)(A) or (a)(2).
181 
‘‘(8) SINGLE EXTENSION OF DEADLINES UPON 
CERTIFICATION.—In a case in which the Secretary 
of Homeland Security has certified to the Congress 
that the employment eligibility verification system 
required under subsection (d) will not be fully oper-
ational by the date that is 6 months after the date 
of the enactment of title VIII of division B of the 
Secure the Border Act of 2023, each deadline estab-
lished under this section for an employer to make an 
inquiry using such system shall be extended by 6 
months. No other extension of such a deadline shall 
be made except as authorized under paragraph 
(1)(D)(iv).’’. 
(b) DATE OF HIRE.—Section 274A(h) of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) DEFINITION OF DATE OF HIRE.—As used 
in this section, the term ‘date of hire’ means the 
date of actual commencement of employment for 
wages or other remuneration, unless otherwise speci-
fied.’’. 
SEC. 802. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYS-
TEM. 
Section 274A(d) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)) is amended to read as follows:
182 
‘‘(d) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYS-
TEM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Patterned on the employ-
ment eligibility confirmation system established 
under section 404 of the Illegal Immigration Reform 
and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 
1324a note), the Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall establish and administer a verification system 
through which the Secretary (or a designee of the 
Secretary, which may be a nongovernmental enti-
ty)— 
‘‘(A) responds to inquiries made by per-
sons at any time through a toll-free electronic 
media concerning an individual’s identity and 
whether the individual is authorized to be em-
ployed; and 
‘‘(B) maintains records of the inquiries 
that were made, of verifications provided (or 
not provided), and of the codes provided to in-
quirers as evidence of their compliance with 
their obligations under this section. 
‘‘(2) INITIAL RESPONSE.—The verification sys-
tem shall provide confirmation or a tentative non-
confirmation of an individual’s identity and employ-
ment eligibility within 3 working days of the initial
183 
inquiry. If providing confirmation or tentative non-
confirmation, the verification system shall provide an 
appropriate code indicating such confirmation or 
such nonconfirmation. 
‘‘(3) SECONDARY CONFIRMATION PROCESS IN 
CASE OF TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMATION.—In cases 
of tentative nonconfirmation, the Secretary shall 
specify, in consultation with the Commissioner of 
Social Security, an available secondary verification 
process to confirm the validity of information pro-
vided and to provide a final confirmation or noncon-
firmation not later than 10 working days after the 
date on which the notice of the tentative noncon-
firmation is received by the employee. The Secretary, 
in consultation with the Commissioner, may extend 
this deadline once on a case-by-case basis for a pe-
riod of 10 working days, and if the time is extended, 
shall document such extension within the verification 
system. The Secretary, in consultation with the 
Commissioner, shall notify the employee and em-
ployer of such extension. The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Commissioner, shall create a standard 
process of such extension and notification and shall 
make a description of such process available to the 
public. When final confirmation or nonconfirmation
184 
is provided, the verification system shall provide an 
appropriate code indicating such confirmation or 
nonconfirmation. 
‘‘(4) DESIGN AND OPERATION OF SYSTEM.— 
The verification system shall be designed and oper-
ated— 
‘‘(A) to maximize its reliability and ease of 
use by persons and other entities consistent 
with insulating and protecting the privacy and 
security of the underlying information; 
‘‘(B) to respond to all inquiries made by 
such persons and entities on whether individ-
uals are authorized to be employed and to reg-
ister all times when such inquiries are not re-
ceived; 
‘‘(C) with appropriate administrative, tech-
nical, and physical safeguards to prevent unau-
thorized disclosure of personal information; 
‘‘(D) to have reasonable safeguards against 
the system’s resulting in unlawful discrimina-
tory practices based on national origin or citi-
zenship status, including— 
‘‘(i) the selective or unauthorized use 
of the system to verify eligibility; or