Click on a question below to see the answer; click on the question a second time to hide the answer.
What is the E-Verify system?
Why does NC State University need to use the E-Verify system?
How and when do I access the E-Verify system?
NC State University uses the I-9 Guardian system by LawLogix to complete both the I-9 form and the E-Verify process electronically. LawLogix serves as our E-Verify “employer agent,” and after an I-9 form is completed and approved in the I-9 Guardian system, it automatically sends the relevant data from our electronic I-9 forms to the E-Verify database. The I-9 form data will NOT be sent to the E-Verify system if the I-9 form is completed but not approved – it must be approved before the data will be transmitted to the E-Verify system for processing.
We are required to complete the I-9 form and send the I-9 information to E-Verify no later than the end of three (3) business days after the actual start date. However, if the employee does not have a valid Social Security Number, the I-9 Guardian system will hold the I-9 information and not send it to the E-Verify system until a valid Social Security Number is entered on the I-9 form for that employee.
Which employees should be verified through the E-Verify system?
All new hires at NC State University must be entered into the E-Verify system, regardless of citizenship or nationality. The I-9 Guardian system will automatically submit the I-9 information to the E-Verify system after the I-9 form has been completed and approved. If an employee has been terminated and rehired in the I-9 Guardian System, that employee’s I-9 will be resubmitted to E-Verify automatically.
Does the E-Verify system confirm the immigration status of a new hire who is not a U.S. citizen?
No, the E-Verify system only confirms a new hire’s employment eligibility, not his/her immigration status.
What should I do if my new employee does not have a Social Security Number?
The E-Verify system requires that the new employee have a valid Social Security Number, and there are no exceptions to this system requirement.
If the new employee does not have a valid Social Security Number (which commonly happens with new foreign national employees), you still must complete an electronic I-9 form with that employee in the I-9 Guardian system within three days after the hire date. Make sure to mark the I-9 completed and approved after electronically signing Section 2 of the I-9 form. Once the employee receives his/her Social Security Number, the I-9 user will amend the current I-9 with this information and resubmit the I-9 form to E-Verify.
Because the E-Verify process will not have been initiated within the required three day timeframe (after the hire date), the E-Verify system, through our electronic I-9 Guardian system, will require you to explain why it is late. On the Manual Processing tab in the employee’s E-Verify record, you should select “Awaiting Social Security Number” as the appropriate reason why the E-Verify submission is late. You will click on the “resubmit late inquiry” button at the bottom of the page to send the I-9 information to the E-Verify system. This can take up to 24 hours for E-Verify to process.
In the meantime, because you properly completed the I-9 process with that new employee to verify work authorization at the time of hire, your employee is allowed to work temporarily without having the Social Security Card or the E-Verify system result. We should not take any action to terminate the employee until or unless the E-Verify system returns a result of a “Final Nonconfirmation.” If such a response is received, please contact the International Employment Unit for additional guidance and direction.
What documentation do I need to keep to indicate that I initiated a query in E-Verify for a new hire?
The I-9 Guardian system retains an electronic copy of the I-9 and the corresponding E-Verify data in each employee’s record in the system. This information can be accessed at any time in the employee record. There is no need for you to print or keep any additional documentation.
Does E-Verify require that I make copies of documents presented for I-9 purposes?
The E-Verify system requires employers to make and attach copies of U.S. Passports or U.S. Passport Cards, Permanent Resident Cards and Employment Authorization Cards (commonly called EADs) but only if they are presented by the new employee as their freely chosen documents for completion of Section 2 of the I-9 form. E-Verify does not require that copies of any other documents be made or kept. NC State University policy is to not copy or attach documents presented for I-9 purposes, with the exceptions noted above.
Because NC State University has an electronic I-9 system, the I-9 User will need to scan and electronically attach copies of these documents, if provided for Section 2 completion by the employee. Please view the tutorial for attaching documents.
What happens in the E-Verify system if the I-9 was not completed within the three day time frame after the hire date?
Once the I-9 is approved in the I-9 Guardian system, the data is electronically sent to the E-Verify system. If Section 2 of the I-9 form was completed more than three days after the hire date, the “Manual Processing” E-Verify tab will appear, and will indicate that you need to explain why the I-9 form was completed late. The system will give you five possible responses. You should NEVER choose the “other” response. Please choose the radio button that corresponds to “Awaiting Social Security Number” or “Audit Revealed New Hire Was Not Run.” If you have any questions about this situation, please contact International Employment before proceeding further at i9questions@ncsu.edu or 513-3338.
Once you have selected the appropriate radio button, you will click on the “Resubmit Late Query” button, and then proceed based on the result indicated by the E-Verify system.
If I receive an “employment authorized” message in E-Verify, how do I finish the E-Verify process in the I-9 Guardian system?
In the I-9 Guardian system on the E-Verify tab in the employee’s record, click on the “Close Case” button, and answer the two questions to fully close out the case. The E-Verify record remains pending in the I-9 Guardian system and the E-Verify system until it is completely and officially closed. Once employment is authorized, you can close the case and then no further action is required.
After you have closed the case, the I-9 Guardian system will take you to the E-Verify Overview tab, which will indicate at the top of the page that the case is closed.
What if I made a typo or other mistake when entering information into the electronic I-9 form, which results in an issue with the E-Verify system?
Once the I-9 is approved in the I-9 Guardian system and the data is electronically sent to the E-Verify system, I-9 Guardian will automatically take you to the E-Verify page connected to this I-9 form within I-9 Guardian. You will be taken to the E-Verify Overview tab and the system will indicate in a green block that the “E-Verify Interaction” is pending. If there is a mismatch between the data from the I-9 form and the SSA and/or DHS databases, the “Manual Processing” E-Verify tab will appear and will indicate that the case is incomplete and that you need to check the information that was previously entered. Follow the options indicated on that screen (in a yellow box) to either close the case, make corrections to update the data and then click “Continue Case,” or click “Continue Case” if everything was entered correctly and no changes were needed.
If you receive a DHS or SSA Tentative Nonconfirmation based on the information entered, we CANNOT close this case using the option of “Employee chooses not to contest” without immediately terminating the employee. When you receive a SSA TNC, please review the I-9 for mistakes and reach out to International Employment to have these mistakes amended and the I-9 resubmitted. If everything is correct, the employee must contest the TNC and report to SSA within 8 days. Please review the tutorial here. If the employee chooses not to contest or does not report to SSA within 8 days, we must terminate the employment. International Employment directly handles all DHS TNCs.