The Redesigned Permanent Resident Card

Form I-9 complianceOn May 11, 2010, USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) announced it will begin issuing a “new and improved” Permanent Resident Card, which most of us know as the Green Card.  In a moment of genius, the designers of the card decided to make it green in color for ease of recognition!

The new Permanent Resident Card incorporates state-of-the-art technology to prevent counterfeiting and facilitate accurate authentication. USCIS will now issue all Green Cards in the new, more secure format.  Recipients of the redesigned Permanent Resident Card will include those newly approved lawful permanent residents, as well as those who get a renewal or replacement card.

Although this seems to be a positive step in decreasing incidents of identity theft and document fraud, it creates more uncertainty for employers.  It becomes the employer’s burden to identify legitimate documents when many employers are not familiar with every version of the Green Card issued over time.

There have been several versions of the Green Card issued over the years.  The first Green Card was issued in 1946 and was referred to at that time as an Alien Registration Receipt Card.  Few of these are still in circulation; they contain no expiration date and as of March 20, 1996 are no longer valid evidence of permanent residency.  Other versions of the Resident Alien Card were issued in 1977 and again in 1989.  Neither the 1977 card nor the 1989 were green in color.

In 1997, the card was renamed to Permanent Resident Card and updated yet again in 2004.  Each time the card was updated, additional security measures were added. As for the most current version issued just this week, holders of older cards will only receive the redesigned Permanent Resident Card when seeking a renewal or replacement card.

Employers should choose to work with a qualified expert to help them navigate the complex requirements of the Form I-9.  Inspecting work authorization and identity documents is an integral part of meeting your responsibility to verify the work eligibility of each person you hire.  The experts at I-9 Okay have reviewed thousands of employee identity documents and are ready to assist you with all of your Form I-9 and E-Verify needs.

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categories Employee Verification, Form I-9 Documents, I-9 Compliance | admin | datetime May 13, 2010 10:16 am | comments Comments (0)

States Jump on the E-Verify Bandwagon

e-verify for employersMost of you have heard about E-Verify for employers but you may not be paying close enough attention because you don’t think it is something you need to think about.  Well, you might want to think again!  The federal government already requires employer’s with federal contracts to use E-Verify for any employee assigned to the contract. Many states are passing laws requiring employers to use E-Verify and many more state have legislation pending.

As of today, 16 states require E-Verify in some capacity.  Arizona, Utah, South Carolina, and Mississippi require all employers to use E-Verify.  Idaho, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri, and Georgia require state agencies and employers with state contracts to use E-Verify.  Virginia and North Carolina require state agencies to use E-Verify and several cities and municipalities have passed their own legislation.

E-Verify uses the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration databases to verify employment eligibility to work in the United States.  After signing up to use E-Verify, the employer inputs information gathered on the Form I-9 into the E-Verify system to confirm the work eligibility of an individual in just a few seconds.  Unfortunately, the process of signing up and receiving approval for E-Verify can be cumbersome…but there is a simple solution.

An employer may contract with an E-Verify Designated Agent to utilize the federal database without having to go through the hassle of signing up, taking the training, and passing the mastery test.  An E-Verify Designated Agent is authorized to use E-Verify to check the employees of any company, with their permission of course.

Using a Designated Agent is a good solution for companies that don’t want to spend valuable resources on an administrative task.  It is a great solution for HR departments that are already stretched to the limit and can’t begin to think about adding one more thing to their busy schedules.

I-9 Okay is an E-Verify Designated Agent.  We are able to assist companies, large and small, with all of their E-Verify and Form I-9 compliance concerns.  E-verify has very specific rules of use…what you don’t know could hurt your company. The E-Verify specialists at I-9 Okay are experts in helping employers navigate the complex rules concerning E-Verify requirements and Federal contracts. Contact us today.

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categories E-Verify, Employee Verification, Federal Contractors | admin | datetime May 6, 2010 11:08 am | comments Comments (0)

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