USCIS and Mississippi Implement New E-Verify Tool to Combat Fraud: Fact Sheet

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today launched Records and Information from DMVs for E-Verify (RIDE), a new feature which allows USCIS’s E-Verify program to validate the authenticity of Mississippi driver’s licenses used by employees as Form I-9 identity documents.

More than 80 percent of employees present driver’s licenses to establish their identities when completing the Form I-9. By enabling E-Verify to compare driver’s license data against state records, RIDE will improve E-Verify’s accuracy and help combat document fraud when determining employees’ eligibility to work in the United States—while observing safeguards to protect employee’s personal data. Mississippi is the first state to partner with USCIS to implement RIDE.

E-Verify RIDE

• RIDE improves the accuracy and strengthens the integrity of the E-Verify system by enabling it, for the first time, to compare driver’s license data against state records when determining employees’ eligibility to work in the United States.
• More than 80 percent of employees present driver’s licenses to establish their identities to complete Form I-9.
• RIDE helps combat document fraud by enabling E-Verify to confirm the authenticity of an additional identity document. 
• For example, previously, if an employee presented a driver’s license to establish his or her identity and a social security card to establish his or her employment authorization, E-Verify would only have been able to confirm the validity of the social security card. RIDE enables E-Verify employers in Mississippi to confirm the validity of both documents
• RIDE prioritizes the protection of employees’ personal data. Privacy protections are detailed in the RIDE Privacy Impact Assessment and Systems of Records Notice.
  • Employers who check Mississippi driver’s licenses through E-Verify will not have access to the data contained within the MDPS database; the employer will only be notified of the case result (such as “Employment Authorized” or “Tentative Nonconfirmation”).
  • USCIS will train relevant personnel on how to properly handle driver’s license data.

State Partnership

• RIDE builds on existing technology and infrastructure that state public safety departments use in conjunction with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). As such, costs to the state are minimal.
• Mississippi is the first state to partner with USCIS to implement RIDE.
  • At present, 4,336 employers representing more than 9,000 worksites in Mississippi use E-Verify. As of June 13, 2011, Mississippi employers had run 201,382 queries through the system in fiscal year 2011.

E-Verify

• E-Verify offers employers a fast, free and easy to use tool to ensure a legal workforce.
• Nationwide, more than 269,000 employers at more than 900,000 worksites are enrolled in the E-Verify program.
• Independent reports and statistics demonstrate that E-Verify is an accurate and non-burdensome system that USCIS has consistently improved over time.
  • In 2010, USCIS introduced U.S. passport photo-matching as a new feature in the E-Verify program—enabling E-Verify to check the validity and authenticity of all U.S. passports and passport cards presented for employment verification. 
  • On March 21, 2011, USCIS introduced E-Verify Self Check—an innovative service that allows individuals in the U.S. to check their employment eligibility status before formally seeking employment—in five states, including Mississippi.
• For information about E-Verify, visit www.dhs.gov/everify.