Effective Sept. 8, 2009, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will require government contractors and subcontractors  to use the E-Verify system to verify their employees’ eligibility to work in the United States if their contract includes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify Clause.

According to information published on the USCIS website, in July, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano “strengthened employment eligibility verification by announcing the Administration’s support for the regulation that will award federal contracts only to employers who use E-Verify to check employee work authorization.”

E-Verify is a free online platform that compares information from the Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9) against federal government databases to verify workers’ employment eligibility. It works to deter unauthorized individuals from attempting to work and also helps encourage employers to comply with federal immigration laws.

After Sept. 8, companies awarded a contract with an “e-verify clause”, will be required to enroll in E-Verify within 30 days of the contract award date. E-Verify will then confirm that any employee working for the company that is contracted, is legally able to work in the U.S.

Click here for more information on E-verify.