Effective September 8, 2009 Federal contracts and solicitations will contain clauses that mandate use of the E-Verify system to determine that employees are eligible to work in the United States. Administered by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), the E-Verify internet-based system to verify the work eligibility of new hires and the validity of Social Security Numbers (SSNs) based on completed I-9 Forms. The system, a legacy of the Bush Administration, was (up until 9/8/09) voluntary—but no longer. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) has been revised (primarily at 22.1800) to mandate use of E-Verify for nearly all Federal contractors.


The new rule will be in included in solicitations and contracts expected to exceed $100,000 in value, except for contracts to acquire commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) items. Existing ID/IQ contracts will be modified to include the clause if their period of performance is expected to last longer than six months after the September 8, 2009 effective date. The new rule will require contractors to (1) enroll in E-Verify within 30 days of receiving a covered contract if they are not already enrolled (some 92,000 employers have already enrolled), (2) check the eligibility of all new employees hired during the duration of the covered contract, (3) check the eligibility of any existing employee that is assigned to a covered contract, and (4) flow the clause down to subcontractors if the value of the subcontract is greater than $3,000.

It may be difficult for contractors to determine which employees have been verified and which need to be verified (because they are being assigned to a covered contract). The new rule provides some flexibility in this area. Instead of only verifying employees assigned to the contract and other new hires, a contractor may elect to verify all of its employees. If it elects this option, the contractor must verify every one of its employees within 180 days of (1) enrollment in E-Verify; or (2) notifying E-Verify Operations of the decision to exercise this option.

Because of the obvious compliance challenges involved in this new rule, USCIS is offering free webinars on Form I-9 and the E-Verify program, including E-Verify requirements for federal contractors. Contractors can sign up for a webinar here. USCIS has created guides to help Federal contractors with E-Verify requirements – there is both an initial Users Manual and a Supplemental Guide. 

View an E-Verify I-9 with Passport Demonstration here