I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 502 
To create an electronic employment eligibility verification system to ensure 
that all workers in the United States are legally able to work, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2013 
Mr. DEFAZIO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and 
Means and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To create an electronic employment eligibility verification 
system to ensure that all workers in the United States 
are legally able to work, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electronic Employ-
ment Eligibility Verification and Illegal Immigration Con-
trol Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYSTEM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 274A(b) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION 
SYSTEM.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall establish and admin-
ister a verification system through which the 
Secretary (or a designee of the Secretary)— 
‘‘(i) responds to inquiries made by 
persons at any time through a toll-free 
telephone line and other toll-free electronic 
media concerning an individual’s identity 
and whether the individual is authorized to 
be employed; and 
‘‘(ii) maintains records of the inquir-
ies that were made, of verifications pro-
vided (or not provided), and of the codes 
provided to inquirers as evidence of their 
compliance with their obligations under 
this section. 
‘‘(B) DESIGN
AND
OPERATION
OF
SYS-
TEM.—The verification system shall be designed 
and operated— 
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likelihood that additional verification 
will be required, beyond what is re-
quired for most job applicants. 
‘‘(C) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMIS-
SIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY.—As part of the 
verification system, the Commissioner of Social 
Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Homeland Security (and any designee of the 
Secretary selected to establish and administer 
the verification system), shall establish a reli-
able, secure method, which, within the time pe-
riods specified under subparagraphs (B) and 
(C) of paragraph (3), compares the name and 
Social Security account number provided in an 
inquiry against such information maintained by 
the Commissioner in order to validate (or not 
validate) the information provided regarding an 
individual whose identity and employment eligi-
bility must be confirmed, the correspondence of 
the name and number, and whether the indi-
vidual has presented a Social Security account 
number that is not valid for employment. The 
Commissioner shall not disclose or release So-
cial Security information (other than such 
verification or nonverification) except as pro-
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vided for in this section or section 205(c)(2)(I) 
of the Social Security Act. 
‘‘(D) RESPONSIBILITIES
OF
THE
SEC-
RETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 
‘‘(i) As part of the verification system, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security (in 
consultation with any designee of the Sec-
retary selected to establish and administer 
the verification system), shall establish a 
reliable, secure method, which, within the 
time periods specified under subparagraphs 
(B) and (C) of paragraph (3), compares 
the name and alien identification or au-
thorization number which are provided in 
an inquiry against such information main-
tained by the Secretary in order to validate 
(or not validate) the information provided, 
the correspondence of the name and num-
ber, and whether the alien is authorized to 
be employed in the United States. 
‘‘(ii) When a single employer has sub-
mitted to the verification system pursuant 
to subparagraphs (B) and (C) of para-
graph (3) the identical Social Security ac-
count number in more than one instance, 
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or when multiple employers have submitted 
to the verification system pursuant to such 
paragraph the identical Social Security ac-
count number, in a manner which indicates 
the possible fraudulent use of that number, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
conduct an investigation, within the time 
periods specified in such subparagraphs, in 
order to ensure that no fraudulent use of 
a Social Security account number has 
taken place. If the Secretary has selected 
a designee to establish and administer the 
verification system, the designee shall no-
tify the Secretary when a single employer 
has submitted to the verification system 
pursuant to such subparagraphs the iden-
tical Social Security account number in 
more than one instance, or when multiple 
employers 
have 
submitted 
to 
the 
verification system pursuant to such para-
graph the identical Social Security account 
number, in a manner which indicates the 
possible fraudulent use of that number. 
The designee shall also provide the Sec-
retary with all pertinent information, in-
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cluding the name and address of the em-
ployer or employers who submitted the rel-
evant Social Security account number, the 
relevant Social Security account number 
submitted by the employer or employers, 
and the relevant name and date of birth of 
the employee submitted by the employer or 
employers. 
‘‘(iii) The Secretary in consultation 
with the Commissioner of Social Security, 
shall establish procedures to permit an in-
dividual who contests a tentative or final 
nonverification notice, or seeks to verify 
the individual’s own employment, to con-
tact the appropriate agency and, in a time-
ly manner, correct or update the informa-
tion used by the system. 
‘‘(iv) The Secretary shall prescribe a 
system to register employer participation 
prior to the date the employer is required 
or permitted to submit information with 
respect to an employee. 
‘‘(E) 
UPDATING
INFORMATION.—The 
Commissioner of Social Security and the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security shall update their 
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information in a manner that promotes the 
maximum accuracy and shall provide a process 
for the prompt correction of erroneous informa-
tion, including instances in which it is brought 
to their attention in the secondary verification 
process described in paragraph (3)(C). 
‘‘(F) FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT.—If an 
individual alleges that the individual would not 
have been dismissed from a job but for an error 
of the verification mechanism, the individual 
may seek compensation only through the mech-
anism of the Federal Tort Claims Act, and in-
junctive relief to correct such error. No class 
action may be brought under this subpara-
graph. 
‘‘(G) PROTECTION
FROM
LIABILITY
FOR 
ACTIONS TAKEN ON THE BASIS OF INFORMA-
TION.—No person or entity shall be civilly or 
criminally liable for any action taken in good 
faith reliance on information provided through 
the employment eligibility verification mecha-
nism established under this paragraph.’’. 
(b) REPEAL OF PROVISION RELATING TO EVALUA-
TIONS AND CHANGES IN EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION.— 
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Section 274A(d) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(d)) is re-
pealed. 
SEC. 3. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROC-
ESS. 
Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1324a) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(3), by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ 
after ‘‘DEFENSE.—’’, and by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(B) FAILURE
TO
SEEK
AND
OBTAIN 
VERIFICATION.—In the case of a person or enti-
ty in the United States that hires, or continues 
to employ, an individual, or recruits or refers 
an individual for employment, the following re-
quirements apply: 
‘‘(i) 
FAILURE
TO
SEEK 
VERIFICATION.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If the person 
or entity has not made an inquiry, 
under 
the 
mechanism 
established 
under 
subsection 
(b)(7), 
seeking 
verification of the identity and work 
eligibility of the individual, by not 
later than the end of 3 working days 
(as specified by the Secretary of 
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Homeland Security) after the date of 
the hiring, the date specified in sub-
section (b)(8)(B) for previously hired 
individuals, or before the recruiting or 
referring 
commences, 
the 
defense 
under subparagraph (A) shall not be 
considered to apply with respect to 
any employment, except as provided in 
subclause (II). 
‘‘(II) SPECIAL RULE FOR FAIL-
URE OF VERIFICATION MECHANISM.— 
If such a person or entity in good 
faith attempts to make an inquiry in 
order to qualify for the defense under 
subparagraph (A) and the verification 
mechanism has registered that not all 
inquiries were responded to during the 
relevant time, the person or entity can 
make an inquiry until the end of the 
first subsequent working day in which 
the verification mechanism registers 
no nonresponses and qualify for such 
defense. 
‘‘(ii) 
FAILURE
TO
OBTAIN 
VERIFICATION.—If the person or entity 
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has made the inquiry described in clause 
(i)(I) but has not received an appropriate 
verification of such identity and work eligi-
bility under such mechanism within the 
time period specified under subsection 
(b)(7)(B) after the time the verification in-
quiry was received, the defense under sub-
paragraph (A) shall not be considered to 
apply with respect to any employment after 
the end of such time period.’’; 
(2) by amending subparagraph (A) of sub-
section (b)(1) to read as follows: 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The person or entity 
must attest, under penalty of perjury and on a 
form designated or established by the Secretary 
by regulation, that it has verified that the indi-
vidual is not an unauthorized alien by— 
‘‘(i) obtaining from the individual the 
individual’s Social Security account num-
ber and recording the number on the form 
(if the individual claims to have been 
issued such a number), and, if the indi-
vidual does not attest to United States citi-
zenship under paragraph (2), obtaining 
such identification or authorization number 
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established by the Department of Home-
land Security for the alien as the Secretary 
of Homeland Security may specify, and re-
cording such number on the form; and 
‘‘(ii)(I) examining a document de-
scribed in subparagraph (B); or 
‘‘(II) examining a document described 
in subparagraph (C) and a document de-
scribed in subparagraph (D). 
A person or entity has complied with the re-
quirement of this paragraph with respect to ex-
amination of a document if the document rea-
sonably appears on its face to be genuine, rea-
sonably appears to pertain to the individual 
whose identity and work eligibility is being 
verified, and, if the document bears an expira-
tion date, that expiration date has not elapsed. 
If an individual provides a document (or com-
bination of documents) that reasonably appears 
on its face to be genuine, reasonably appears to 
pertain to the individual whose identity and 
work eligibility is being verified, and is suffi-
cient to meet the first sentence of this para-
graph, nothing in this paragraph shall be con-
strued as requiring the person or entity to so-
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licit the production of any other document or as 
requiring the individual to produce another doc-
ument.’’; 
(3) in subsection (b)(1)(D)— 
(A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or such other 
personal identification information relating to 
the individual as the Attorney General finds, by 
regulation, sufficient for purposes of this sec-
tion’’; and 
(B) in clause (ii), by inserting before the 
period ‘‘and that contains a photograph of the 
individual’’; 
(4) in subsection (b)(2), by adding at the end 
the following: ‘‘The individual must also provide that 
individual’s Social Security account number (if the 
individual claims to have been issued such a num-
ber), and, if the individual does not attest to United 
States citizenship under this paragraph, such identi-
fication or authorization number established by the 
Department of Homeland Security for the alien as 
the Secretary may specify.’’; and 
(5) by amending paragraph (3) of subsection 
(b) to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) RETENTION OF VERIFICATION FORM AND 
VERIFICATION.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—After completion of 
such form in accordance with paragraphs (1) 
and (2), the person or entity must— 
‘‘(i) retain a paper, microfiche, micro-
film, or electronic version of the form and 
make it available for inspection by officers 
of the Department of Homeland Security, 
the Special Counsel for Immigration-Re-
lated Unfair Employment Practices, or the 
Department of Labor during a period be-
ginning on the date of the hiring, recruit-
ing, or referral of the individual or the 
date of the completion of verification of a 
previously hired individual and ending— 
‘‘(I) in the case of the recruiting 
or referral of an individual, 3 years 
after the date of the recruiting or re-
ferral; 
‘‘(II) in the case of the hiring of 
an individual, the later of— 
‘‘(aa) 3 years after the date 
of such hiring; or 
‘‘(bb) 1 year after the date 
the individual’s employment is 
terminated; and 
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‘‘(III) 
in 
the 
case 
of 
the 
verification of a previously hired indi-
vidual, the later of— 
‘‘(aa) 3 years after the date 
of the completion of verification; 
or 
‘‘(bb) 1 year after the date 
the individual’s employment is 
terminated; 
‘‘(ii) make an inquiry, as provided in 
paragraph (7), using the verification sys-
tem to seek verification of the identity and 
employment eligibility of an individual, by 
not later than the end of 3 working days 
(as specified by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security) after the date of the hiring or in 
the case of previously hired individuals, the 
date specified in paragraph (8)(B), or be-
fore the recruiting or referring commences; 
and 
‘‘(iii) not commence recruitment or re-
ferral of the individual until the person or 
entity receives verification under clause (i) 
or (ii) of subparagraph (D). 
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