Site Visit Recruitment Script for Employers

Telephone Recruiting Script for E-Verify National Onsite Study

Evaluation of the E-Verify Program

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security

Revised July 29, 2013

SECTION A. [INITIAL CONTACT]

INTRO:

Hello, my name is _____________________ and I’m calling from Westat, on behalf of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Westat is a social science research company and I am calling regarding the E-Verify work authorization program that your company is using.

May I please speak with (INSERT NAME OF CONTACT 1)

[IF ASKED WHY, EXPLAIN THAT YOU ARE FOLLOWING UP ON AN EMAIL SENT TO THIS PERSON]

YES………………………...1 (SKIP TO SECTION C)

NOT AVAILABLE……….2 (IF CONTACT IS NOT AVAILABLE, REQUEST A CALL BACK

DATE/TIME. RECORD IN EROC. END.)

NEED NEW CONTACT….3 (IF CONTACT IS NO LONGER THE APPROPRIATE PERSON, GO TO QUESTION QB1.)

SECTION B. [IF CONTACT 1 IS NOT THE CORRECT RESPONDENT]

1. Who is the person most knowledgeable about the E-Verify Program for your company?

NAME: _______________________________________________________________

[IF ASKED WHY, EXPLAIN BRIEFLY THAT WESTAT IS CONDUCTING A STUDY OF
THE E-VERIFY PROGRAM AND THIS PERSON WOULD PROBABLY BE THE BEST PERSON TO SPEAK TO.]

2. Is (he/she) available?

YES………...1 (WHEN CONNECTED, GO TO SECTION C)

NO…………2

May I have (his/her) phone number so I can call (him/her) back at another time?

______________________________________________________________________

What is the best time to call [CONTACT NAME]?

______________________________________________________________________

SECTION C. [CORRECT CONTACT PERSON IDENTIFIED]

Hello, my name is _____________________ and I’m calling from Westat, a social science research company, on behalf of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am following up on an email recently sent to your company about the E-Verify work authorization program that your company is using.

[IF EMAIL NOT RECEIVED, SAY WE WILL RESEND IT (CONFIRM EMAIL ADDRESS) AND CONTINUE RECRUITING, IF POSSIBLE. IF UNWILLING TO LET YOU CONTINUE WITHOUT EMAIL, SAY YOU WILL SEND IT AND THEN CALL BACK AFTER IT HAS BEEN SENT.]

The email stated that your company was selected to participate in an evaluation of the E-Verify Program. Your company will have the opportunity to provide valuable feedback on the E-Verify Program and how it might be improved. Please note that we are NOT conducting an audit of how your company uses E-Verify.

You were identified as the person at your company who would be most knowledgeable about the E-Verify Program, is this correct?

YES…………1

NO…………..2 (GO TO SECTION B)

Your participation in the study and the information we collect will be kept private. Westat will not share any information about your company or its use of E-Verify with DHS, any other government agency, or anyone else.

We’d like to ask you a few questions to ensure your company is eligible for our evaluation.

1. Is your company an E-Verify Employer Agent, that is, your company provides E-Verify services to other companies for a fee?

YES……………..1 (EMPLOYER NOT ELIGIBLE – END INTERVIEW AND THANK

RESPONDENT)

NO……………….2

DON’T KNOW….8 SAY: Is there someone you could check with to find out if your

company is an E-Verify Employer Agent who provides E-Verify

services to other companies for a fee?

(IF YES: When would be a good time to call back after you’ve had a chance to find out?

IF NO: THANK AND END.)

2. Are you a Client of an E-Verify Employer Agent, that is, you hired another company to provide E-Verify services to your company for a fee?

YES………………1 (EMPLOYER NOT ELIGIBLE – END INTERVIEW AND THANK

RESPONDENT)

NO………………..2

DON’T KNOW….8 SAY: Is there someone you could check with to find out if your

company is an E-Verify Employer Agent?

(IF YES: When would be a good time to call back after you’ve had a chance to find out?

IF NO: THANK AND END.)

Your company is eligible to participate in the evaluation. As stated in the email, we would conduct a site visit at your company which includes three things.

• First, an interview with you because you are the person who is most knowledgeable about your company’s work authorization process including use of E-Verify. This would take approximately two hours.

• Second, we would like to observe the E-Verify system being used by the staff person who usually uses it and, if possible, we would like to see a query for a new hire. This would take approximately 15-20 minutes.

• Last, the interviewer will review the Form I-9 and related work authorization records for between 3 and 25 workers who have received Tentative Nonconfirmation findings (TNCs). The interviewers will perform this review on their own. You will receive a FedEx package prior to the day of the site visit with the names of the workers so you can pull these records ahead of time.

We’d like to emphasize that your participation in the study and the information we collect will be kept private. Westat will not share any information about your company or its use of E-Verify with DHS, any other government agency, or anyone else. The report will summarize your company’s responses with many other interviewed companies and will not identify you or your company by name.

SECTION D. [SCHEDULING THE SITE VISIT]

We would like to visit your company sometime between DATE and DATE, preferably on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

1. What date would be good for you for us to do the site visit?

DAY ______________ DATE________________________

(IF NO DATES IN THIS TIME FRAME ARE GOOD, ASK R FOR THE NEXT TIME FRAME. ALSO MENTION THAT IT MAY BE POSSIBLE TO DO A MONDAY AFTERNOON OR A FRIDAY MORNING.)

________________________________________________________________________

IF THE RESPONDENT INDICATES THEY CANNOT OR ARE NOT WILLING TO PARTICIPATE, USE YOUR TRAINING TO KEEP THIS AS A SOFT REFUSAL AND ENCOURAGE THEIR PARTICIPATION. MENTION THE FOLLOWING:

• IF THEY SAY THEY ARE TOO BUSY, REPLY CALMLY: I understand that employers are very busy. I would be happy to call you back in the next few weeks if that works for you.

  • IF THEY INDICATE THIS TIMING IS STILL BAD, ASK THEM: If you prefer, I can call you back next month to check your schedule.

• IF THEY JUST DON’T WANT TO PARTICIPATE, SAY: Your participation is very important to the evaluation since we are not interviewing a large number of employers. We really need your help in learning what is working well with E-Verify and what needs to be improved.

• LAST RESORT: You may recall that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) you signed in order to participate in E-Verify, indicated that “employers agree to cooperate with DHS and SSA in their …evaluation of E-Verify, including by permitting DHS and SSA upon reasonable notice, to review Forms I-9 and other employer records and to interview it and its employers regarding the Employer’s use of E-Verify….”

2. What would be a good time for the interviewer to start? Please remember that about 2 hours will be needed to interview you as the person who is most knowledgeable about your work authorization process including use of E-Verify and another 20 minutes to observe the
E-Verify system being used by the staff member who regularly uses it. The interviewer will also need time on their own to do the record review. The amount of time will depend on the number of records to be reviewed. If records from 12 or more people need to be reviewed, two interviewers will participate in the site visit. The maximum number of people whose records will be reviewed is 25.

RECORD TIME TO START: ______________________________________

[CONFIRM DATE and TIME] SAY: Thank you. Our site visit to your company is now scheduled for DAY/DATE/TIME.

3. For quality control purposes, a few of the interviews will be audio-recorded. With your permission, we would like to record your interview if it is selected. Is that OK with you?

YES…………………………………1

NO…………………………………..2 [SAY: Then, we will not record the interview.]

4. Can you confirm your email address so we can send you a confirmation for your appointment?

____________________________________________________________________________

5. May I also have your mailing address so we can send you the FedEx with the names of the workers whose records you will be pulling? [IF A PO BOX IS GIVEN, ASK FOR A DIFFERENT ADDRESS SINCE FEDEX CANNOT DELIVER TO A PO BOX]

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you. That’s all the information I need at this time. The interviewer will call you a few days in advance to remind you of the site visit.

If you have any questions, you may email us at [email protected] or call 1-888-808-1028.

Thank you very much for your cooperation in this important study. Goodbye.