The purpose of E-Verify is to confirm the validity of the identity and right-to-work documents by matching the data provided with databases managed by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS).What E-Verify returns, is very simple statuses. E-Verify does NOT provide the employer citizenship status, immigration status, or anything else. It returns basically two choices:
EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZED
No further action is required on your part. The names and numbers matched available records, and the employee is good to go.
DHS OR SSA TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMATION (TNC)
Tentative Nonconfirmation is exactly that. It just means that the names and numbers did NOT match existing records. This is NOT proof that the employee is not eligible to work. The employee has the right to contest this outcome, but first, you should double check your entries. indeed the vast majority of the time this occurs is due to data entry errors when submitting the form.
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To help with this, DHS has established a compliance division, with officers reviewing data and searching for patterns of likely errors so they can contact the employer to prevent future errors. According to the DHS “USCIS protects E-Verify against system misuse through monitoring and compliance activities, such as identifying and resolving compliance issues, notifying employers of noncompliant behaviors, and offering compliance assistance in the form of emails, phone calls, desk reviews, and site visits. These monitoring and compliance activities assist and encourage E-Verify participants to use E-Verify as required by laws, rules, regulations and agency policies applicable to E-Verify and Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.”
What E-Verify does NOT check for is immigration status, or citizenship. It basically simply gives a “yes” or a “maybe,” so be sure to follow the TNC guidelines below if you receive that status back. This is important to remain in compliance with Act 274B, which prohibits discrimination based on citizenship or immigration status.