I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1772 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make mandatory and 
permanent requirements relating to use of an electronic employment 
eligibility verification system, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 26, 2013 
Mr. SMITH of Texas (for himself, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. 
GOWDY, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. LANCE, Mr. KING of 
New York, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. FRANKS of Ari-
zona, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. ROYCE, Mrs. BLACK-
BURN, Mr. FORBES, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. LABRADOR, Mr. 
FARENTHOLD, Mr. HOLDING, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, and Mr. ISSA) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju-
diciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means and Edu-
cation and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make 
mandatory and permanent requirements relating to use 
of an electronic employment eligibility verification sys-
tem, 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 ‘‘Legal Workforce Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROC-
ESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 274A(b) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) 
EMPLOYMENT
ELIGIBILITY
VERIFICATION 
PROCESS.— 
‘‘(1) NEW HIRES, RECRUITMENT, AND REFER-
RAL.—The requirements referred to in paragraphs 
(1)(B) and (3) of subsection (a) are, in the case of 
a person or other entity hiring, recruiting, or refer-
ring an individual for employment in the United 
States, the following: 
‘‘(A) ATTESTATION
AFTER
EXAMINATION 
OF DOCUMENTATION.— 
‘‘(i) 
ATTESTATION.—During 
the 
verification period (as defined in subpara-
graph (E)), the person or entity shall at-
test, under penalty of perjury and on a 
form, including electronic and telephonic 
formats, designated or established by the 
Secretary by regulation not later than 6 
months after the date of the enactment of 
the Legal Workforce Act, that it has 
verified that the individual is not an unau-
thorized alien by— 
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‘‘(I) obtaining from the indi-
vidual the individual’s social security 
account number and recording the 
number on the form (if the individual 
claims to have been issued such a 
number), and, if the individual does 
not attest to United States nationality 
under subparagraph (B), obtaining 
such identification or authorization 
number established by the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security for the 
alien as the Secretary of Homeland 
Security may specify, and recording 
such number on the form; and 
‘‘(II) examining— 
‘‘(aa) a document relating to 
the individual presenting it de-
scribed in clause (ii); or 
‘‘(bb) a document relating to 
the individual presenting it de-
scribed in clause (iii) and a docu-
ment relating to the individual 
presenting it described in clause 
(iv). 
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‘‘(ii) DOCUMENTS
EVIDENCING
EM-
PLOYMENT
AUTHORIZATION
AND
ESTAB-
LISHING
IDENTITY.—A 
document 
de-
scribed in this subparagraph is an individ-
ual’s— 
‘‘(I) unexpired United States 
passport or passport card; 
‘‘(II) unexpired permanent resi-
dent card that contains a photograph; 
‘‘(III) unexpired employment au-
thorization card that contains a pho-
tograph; 
‘‘(IV) in the case of a non-
immigrant alien authorized to work 
for a specific employer incident to sta-
tus, a foreign passport with Form I– 
94 or Form I–94A, or other docu-
mentation as designated by the Sec-
retary specifying the alien’s non-
immigrant status as long as the pe-
riod of status has not yet expired and 
the proposed employment is not in 
conflict with any restrictions or limita-
tions identified in the documentation; 
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‘‘(V) passport from the Fed-
erated States of Micronesia (FSM) or 
the Republic of the Marshall Islands 
(RMI) with Form I–94 or Form I– 
94A, or other documentation as des-
ignated by the Secretary, indicating 
nonimmigrant admission under the 
Compact of Free Association Between 
the United States and the FSM or 
RMI; or 
‘‘(VI) other document designated 
by the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity, if the document— 
‘‘(aa) contains a photograph 
of the individual and biometric 
identification data from the indi-
vidual and such other personal 
identifying information relating 
to the individual as the Secretary 
of Homeland Security finds, by 
regulation, sufficient for purposes 
of this clause; 
‘‘(bb) is evidence of author-
ization of employment in the 
United States; and 
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‘‘(cc) contains security fea-
tures to make it resistant to tam-
pering, counterfeiting, and fraud-
ulent use. 
‘‘(iii) DOCUMENTS
EVIDENCING
EM-
PLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—A document 
described in this subparagraph is an indi-
vidual’s social security account number 
card (other than such a card which speci-
fies on the face that the issuance of the 
card does not authorize employment in the 
United States). 
‘‘(iv) 
DOCUMENTS
ESTABLISHING 
IDENTITY
OF
INDIVIDUAL.—A document 
described in this subparagraph is— 
‘‘(I) an individual’s unexpired 
State issued driver’s license or identi-
fication card if it contains a photo-
graph and information such as name, 
date of birth, gender, height, eye 
color, and address; 
‘‘(II) an individual’s unexpired 
U.S. military identification card; 
‘‘(III) an individual’s unexpired 
Native American tribal identification 
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document issued by a tribal entity rec-
ognized by the Bureau of Indian Af-
fairs; or 
‘‘(IV) in the case of an individual 
under 18 years of age, a parent or 
legal guardian’s attestation under 
penalty of law as to the identity and 
age of the individual. 
‘‘(v) AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT USE OF 
CERTAIN DOCUMENTS.—If the Secretary of 
Homeland Security finds, by regulation, 
that any document described in clause (i), 
(ii), or (iii) as establishing employment au-
thorization or identity does not reliably es-
tablish such authorization or identity or is 
being used fraudulently to an unacceptable 
degree, the Secretary may prohibit or place 
conditions on its use for purposes of this 
paragraph. 
‘‘(vi) SIGNATURE.—Such attestation 
may be manifested by either a hand-writ-
ten or electronic signature. 
‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL
ATTESTATION
OF
EM-
PLOYMENT
AUTHORIZATION.—During 
the 
verification period (as defined in subparagraph 
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(E)), the individual shall attest, under penalty 
of perjury on the form designated or established 
for purposes of subparagraph (A), that the indi-
vidual is a citizen or national of the United 
States, an alien lawfully admitted for perma-
nent residence, or an alien who is authorized 
under this Act or by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security to be hired, recruited, or referred for 
such employment. Such attestation may be 
manifested by either a hand-written or elec-
tronic signature. The individual shall also pro-
vide that individual’s social security account 
number (if the individual claims to have been 
issued such a number), and, if the individual 
does not attest to United States nationality 
under this subparagraph, such identification or 
authorization number established by the De-
partment of Homeland Security for the alien as 
the Secretary may specify. 
‘‘(C) RETENTION OF VERIFICATION FORM 
AND VERIFICATION.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After completion 
of such form in accordance with subpara-
graphs (A) and (B), the person or entity 
shall— 
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‘‘(I) retain a paper, microfiche, 
microfilm, or electronic version of the 
form and make it available for inspec-
tion by officers of the Department of 
Homeland Security, the Special Coun-
sel for Immigration-Related Unfair 
Employment Practices, or the Depart-
ment of Labor during a period begin-
ning on the date of the recruiting or 
referral of the individual, or, in the 
case of the hiring of an individual, the 
date on which the verification is com-
pleted, and ending— 
‘‘(aa) in the case of the re-
cruiting or referral of an indi-
vidual, 3 years after the date of 
the recruiting or referral; and 
‘‘(bb) in the case of the hir-
ing of an individual, the later of 
3 years after the date the 
verification is completed or one 
year after the date the individ-
ual’s employment is terminated; 
and 
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‘‘(II) during the verification pe-
riod (as defined in subparagraph (E)), 
make an inquiry, as provided in sub-
section (d), using the verification sys-
tem to seek verification of the identity 
and employment eligibility of an indi-
vidual. 
‘‘(ii) CONFIRMATION.— 
‘‘(I) 
CONFIRMATION
RE-
CEIVED.—If the person or other entity 
receives an appropriate confirmation 
of an individual’s identity and work 
eligibility under the verification sys-
tem within the time period specified, 
the person or entity shall record on 
the form an appropriate code that is 
provided under the system and that 
indicates a final confirmation of such 
identity and work eligibility of the in-
dividual. 
‘‘(II) TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMA-
TION
RECEIVED.—If the person or 
other entity receives a tentative non-
confirmation of an individual’s iden-
tity or work eligibility under the 
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verification system within the time pe-
riod specified, the person or entity 
shall so inform the individual for 
whom the verification is sought. If the 
individual does not contest the non-
confirmation within the time period 
specified, the nonconfirmation shall be 
considered final. The person or entity 
shall then record on the form an ap-
propriate code which has been pro-
vided under the system to indicate a 
final nonconfirmation. If the indi-
vidual does contest the nonconfirma-
tion, the individual shall utilize the 
process for secondary verification pro-
vided under subsection (d). The non-
confirmation will remain tentative 
until a final confirmation or noncon-
firmation 
is 
provided 
by 
the 
verification system within the time pe-
riod specified. In no case shall an em-
ployer terminate employment of an in-
dividual because of a failure of the in-
dividual to have identity and work eli-
gibility confirmed under this section 
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until a nonconfirmation becomes final. 
Nothing in this clause shall apply to a 
termination of employment for any 
reason other than because of such a 
failure. In no case shall an employer 
rescind the offer of employment to an 
individual because of a failure of the 
individual to have identity and work 
eligibility confirmed under this sub-
section until a nonconfirmation be-
comes final. Nothing in this subclause 
shall apply to a recission of the offer 
of employment for any reason other 
than because of such a failure. 
‘‘(III) FINAL CONFIRMATION OR 
NONCONFIRMATION
RECEIVED.—If a 
final confirmation or nonconfirmation 
is provided by the verification system 
regarding an individual, the person or 
entity shall record on the form an ap-
propriate code that is provided under 
the system and that indicates a con-
firmation or nonconfirmation of iden-
tity and work eligibility of the indi-
vidual. 
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‘‘(IV) EXTENSION OF TIME.—If 
the person or other entity in good 
faith attempts to make an inquiry 
during the time period specified and 
the verification system has registered 
that not all inquiries were received 
during such time, the person or entity 
may make an inquiry in the first sub-
sequent working day in which the 
verification system registers that it 
has received all inquiries. If the 
verification system cannot receive in-
quiries at all times during a day, the 
person or entity merely has to assert 
that the entity attempted to make the 
inquiry on that day for the previous 
sentence to apply to such an inquiry, 
and does not have to provide any ad-
ditional proof concerning such inquiry. 
‘‘(V) CONSEQUENCES
OF
NON-
CONFIRMATION.— 
‘‘(aa) TERMINATION OR NO-
TIFICATION OF CONTINUED EM-
PLOYMENT.—If the person or 
other entity has received a final 
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is 12 months after the date of the en-
actment of such Act. 
‘‘(III) With respect to employers 
having 20 or more employees in the 
United States, but less than 500 em-
ployees in the United States, on the 
date of the enactment of the Legal 
Workforce Act, on the date that is 18 
months after the date of the enact-
ment of such Act. 
‘‘(IV) With respect to employers 
having 1 or more employees in the 
United States, but less than 20 em-
ployees in the United States, on the 
date of the enactment of the Legal 
Workforce Act, on the date that is 24 
months after the date of the enact-
ment of such Act. 
‘‘(ii) RECRUITING AND REFERRING.— 
Except as provided in clause (iii), the pro-
visions of this paragraph shall apply to a 
person or other entity recruiting or refer-
ring an individual for employment in the 
United States on the date that is 12 
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months after the date of the enactment of 
the Legal Workforce Act. 
‘‘(iii) AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERV-
ICES.—With respect to an employee per-
forming agricultural labor or services, this 
paragraph shall not apply with respect to 
the verification of the employee until the 
date that is 24 months after the date of 
the enactment of the Legal Workforce Act. 
For purposes of the preceding sentence, 
the term ‘agricultural labor or services’ has 
the meaning given such term by the Sec-
retary of Agriculture in regulations and in-
cludes agricultural labor as defined in sec-
tion 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986, agriculture as defined in section 
3(f) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(f)), the handling, 
planting, drying, packing, packaging, proc-
essing, freezing, or grading prior to deliv-
ery for storage of any agricultural or horti-
cultural commodity in its unmanufactured 
state, all activities required for the prepa-
ration, processing or manufacturing of a 
product of agriculture (as such term is de-
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fined in such section 3(f)) for further dis-
tribution, and activities similar to all the 
foregoing as they relate to fish or shellfish 
in aquaculture facilities. An employee de-
scribed in this clause shall not be counted 
for purposes of clause (i). 
‘‘(iv) TRANSITION RULE.—Subject to 
paragraph (4), the following shall apply to 
a person or other entity hiring, recruiting, 
or referring an individual for employment 
in the United States until the effective 
date or dates applicable under clauses (i) 
through (iii): 
‘‘(I) This subsection, as in effect 
before the enactment of the Legal 
Workforce Act. 
‘‘(II) Subtitle A of title IV of the 
Illegal Immigration Reform and Im-
migrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 
U.S.C. 1324a note), as in effect be-
fore the effective date in section 7(c) 
of the Legal Workforce Act. 
‘‘(III) Any other provision of 
Federal law requiring the person or 
entity to participate in the E-Verify 
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Program described in section 403(a) 
of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 
(8 U.S.C. 1324a note), as in effect be-
fore the effective date in section 7(c) 
of the Legal Workforce Act, including 
Executive Order 13465 (8 U.S.C. 
1324a note; relating to Government 
procurement). 
‘‘(E) VERIFICATION PERIOD DEFINED.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—For purposes of 
this paragraph: 
‘‘(I) In the case of recruitment or 
referral, the term ‘verification period’ 
means the period ending on the date 
recruiting or referring commences. 
‘‘(II) In the case of hiring, the 
term ‘verification period’ means the 
period beginning on the date on which 
an offer of employment is extended 
and ending on the date that is 3 busi-
ness days after the date of hire, ex-
cept as provided in clause (iii). The 
offer of employment may be condi-
tioned in accordance with clause (ii). 
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‘‘(ii) JOB
OFFER
MAY
BE
CONDI-
TIONAL.—A person or other entity may 
offer a prospective employee an employ-
ment position that is conditioned on final 
verification of the identity and employment 
eligibility of the employee using the proce-
dures established under this paragraph. 
‘‘(iii) 
SPECIAL
RULE.—Notwith-
standing clause (i)(II), in the case of an 
alien who is authorized for employment 
and who provides evidence from the Social 
Security Administration that the alien has 
applied for a social security account num-
ber, the verification period ends three busi-
ness days after the alien receives the social 
security account number. 
‘‘(2) REVERIFICATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH 
LIMITED WORK AUTHORIZATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), a person or entity shall 
make an inquiry, as provided in subsection (d), 
using 
the 
verification 
system 
to 
seek 
reverification of the identity and employment 
eligibility of all individuals with a limited period 
of work authorization employed by the person 
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