National Survey of E-Verify Employers Pretest

Employer ID: _______________________________

OMB # 1615-0126 Expires: xx/xx/20xx

DHS Privacy Notice

AUTHORITIES: The information requested on this survey is collected under 6 U.S.C. 271 and the Illegal

Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), Public Law 104-208, Sec. 401-

405 (Sept. 30, 1996), as amended and codified at 8 U.S.C. 1324a note.

PURPOSE: The primary purpose for providing the requested information on this survey is assist USCIS with determining whether: (1) new and revised questions for the E-Verify National Survey of Employers are clear and easy to answer; (2) questions convey the intended meaning; (3) information requested is available; and (4) questions require an excessive amount of time to complete.

DISCLOSURE: The information you provide is voluntary.

ROUTINE USES: Westat, the authorized contractor acting on behalf of USCIS, may share an overall summary of the responses you provide on this survey with USCIS. However, there are procedures to protect the confidentiality of employer respondents’ individual survey responses. DHS follows approved routine uses described in the associated published system of records notice [DHS/USCIS-011 E-Verify Program] and the published privacy impact assessment [DHS/USCIS/PIA-030 E-Verify] which you can find at www.dhs.gov/privacy.

Paperwork Reduction Action Statement

An agency may not conduct or sponsor an information collection and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated at 15 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, and completing and submitting the form. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Research and Evaluation Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, 20 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20529-2210. OMB No. 1615-0126. Do not return the completed form to this address.

Attachment C

Telephone Recruiting Script for E-Verify Cognitive Focus Groups

(2018 National Survey of E-Verify Employers Pretest)

SECTION A. [INITIAL CONTACT]

INTRO:

Hello, my name is ___________ and I’m calling from Westat, a research company, on behalf of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). I’m calling regarding the E-Verify program.

QA1. May I speak with (INSERT NAME OF CONTACT)?

YES……………….….1 (SKIP TO QUESTION QC1)

NOT AVAILABLE……….2 (IF CONTACT IS NOT AVAILABLE, REQUEST A CALL BACK TIME. RECORD TIME ON CALL RECORD. END.)

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

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

QB1. Can you tell me who is the most knowledgeable person about your company’s use of the E-Verify program?

NAME: ______________________________________________________

QB2. And what is his/her phone number?

PHONE NUMBER: (_________) __________ - __________________

QB3. May I speak with (INSERT NAME OF NEW CONTACT)?

YES……………….…1 (GO TO QUESTION QC1)

NOT AVAILABLE……….2 (IF CONTACT IS NOT AVAILABLE, REQUEST A CALL BACK TIME. RECORD TIME ON CALL RECORD. END.)

SECTION C. [SPEAKING TO CONTACT PERSON]

[READ IF NEEDED]: Hello, my name is _____________ and I’m calling from Westat, a research company, on behalf of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). I’m calling regarding the E-Verify program.

QC1. We are currently setting up focus groups to test a questionnaire that will be used later in a 2018 national survey to evaluate the E-Verify program. Participants in the focus groups will provide valuable feedback about our survey design and will not be asked to participate in the full study in 2018.

You have been identified as the person who is the most knowledgeable about your company’s use of the E-Verify program. Is that correct?

YES…………1

NO…………..2 (GO BACK TO QB1)

If your company is eligible, we would like to invite you to participate in one of the focus groups which will be conducted via WebEx. We are offering a $75 incentive to participants as a thank you for your help. Your participation in the study and the information we collect will be kept strictly private, to the extent allowable by law. The focus group discussion will be audio recorded only to help us summarize the feedback and to revise the survey, but we will not share with USCIS names of individuals or companies that participate in this study.

C2. Are you willing to help us develop this questionnaire by participating in a focus group?

YES…………1 (

NO…………..2 (SAY] (Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. (END)

TNC eligibility for all focus groups

QC3. Has your company had a Tentative Nonconfirmation for an employee over the past 12 months?

YES ………………...….1 (CONTINUE WITH QC4)

NO …………………2 [SAY] (Because we are only looking for companies that had a TNC for an employee over the past 12 months your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. (END)

DON’T KNOW…….3 (IF CONTACT IS NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S USE OF E-VERIFY, GO BACK TO QUESTION QB1.)

Eligibility for clients of EEAs (Focus group 6)

QC4. Does your company have an E-Verify Employer Agent; i.e., do you hire a company that uses E-Verify to verify your workers’ employment eligibility?

YES ……………….1 (GO TO SECTION D)

NO …………………2 [SAY] (Because we are looking for companies that are clients of EEAs your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. (END)

DON’T KNOW…….3 (IF CONTACT IS NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S USE OF E-VERIFY, GO BACK TO QUESTION QB1.)

Eligibility for EEAs verifying BOTH clients’ and own workers (Focus group 5)

QC5. Is your company an E-Verify Employer Agent; i.e., a company that uses E-Verify to verify your clients’ workers? An E-Verify Employer Agent used to be called a Designated Agent or DA

YES ………………..1 (CONTINUE WITH QC6)

NO …………………2 [SAY] ] (Because we are looking for companies that are E-Verify Employer Agents your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. (END)

DON’T KNOW…….3 (IF CONTACT IS NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S USE OF E-VERIFY, GO BACK TO QUESTION QB1.)

QC6. In the past 12 months, has your company verified BOTH your clients’ workers and your own workers?

YES…………………...1 (GO TO SECTION D)

NO, WE DO NOT VERIFY BOTH OUR CLIENTS’ WORKERS AND OUR OWN WORKERS…2 [SAY] (Because we are looking for EEAs that verified both their clients’ workers and their own workers your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. ( END)

DON’T KNOW…………………………………………..3 (IF CONTACT IS NOT

KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S USE OF E-VERIFY, GO BACK TO QUESTION QB1.)

Eligibility for EEAs verifying only clients’ workers (Focus group 4)

QC7. Is your company an E-Verify Employer Agent; i.e., a company that uses E-Verify to verify your clients’ workers? An E-Verify Employer Agent used to be called a Designated Agent or DA

YES ………………..1 (CONTINUE WITH QC8)

NO …………………2 [SAY] (Because we are looking for companies that are E-Verify Employer Agents your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. (END)

DON’T KNOW…….3 (IF CONTACT IS NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S USE OF E-VERIFY, GO BACK TO QUESTION QB1.)

QC8. In the past 12 months, has your company verified ONLY your clients’ workers or did you verify your own workers as well?

YES, VERIFIED ONLY CLIENTS’ WORKERS……...1 (GO TO QC9)

NO, ALSO VERIFIED OWN WORKERS ……2 [SAY]( Because we are looking for E-Verify Employer Agents that verified only their clients’ worker, your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. (END)

DON’T KNOW…………………………………………..3 (IF CONTACT IS NOT

KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S USE OF E-VERIFY, GO BACK

TO QUESTION QB1.)

QC9. Did your company register with E-Verify to verify your clients’ workers, only using customized software (e.g., human resources software) that interfaces with
E-Verify?

YES ………………..1 (GO TO SECTION D IF THE COMPANY WAS SAMPLED AS A WEB SERVICES EEA. IF WEB SERVICES EEAs ARE NOT NEEDED, SAY (Because we are looking for EEAs that only use the E-Verify browser your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. (END)

NO……………….…2 (GO TO SECTION D. IF EEAs USING E-VERIFY BROWSER ARE NOT NEEDED, SAY (Because we are looking for EEAs that only use customized software that interfaces with E-Verify, your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. (END)

DON’T KNOW…….3 (IF CONTACT IS NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE

COMPANY’S USE OF E-VERIFY, GO BACK TO

QUESTION QB1.)

Eligibility for EEAs using E-Verify Website directly to verify own employees only (Focus group 3)

QC10. Is your company an E-Verify Employer Agent; i.e., a company that uses E-Verify to verify your clients’ workers? An E-Verify Employer Agent used to be called a Designated Agent or DA.

YES ………………..1 (CONTINUE WITH QC11)

NO …………………2 [SAY] (] (Because we are looking for companies that are E-Verify Employer Agents your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. (END)

DON’T KNOW…….3 (IF CONTACT IS NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S USE OF E-VERIFY, GO BACK TO QUESTION QB1.)

QC11. In the past 12 months, has your company verified ONLY your own workers or did you verify clients’ workers as well?

YES, VERIFIED ONLY OUR OWN WORKERS……...1 (CONTINUE WITH QC12)

NO, ALSO VERIFIED CLIENTS’ WORKERS……2 [SAY] ( Because we are looking for E-Verify Employer Agents that verified only their own workers, your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. (END)

DON’T KNOW…………………………………………..3 (IF CONTACT IS NOT

KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S USE OF E-VERIFY, GO

BACK TO QUESTION QB1.)

QC12. Does your company have customized software (e.g., a human resource software system) for using E-Verify?

YES ………………..1 [SAY] (Because we are looking for EEAs that use the E-Verify browser, your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. (END)

NO …………………2 (GO TO SECTION D)

DON’T KNOW…….3 (IF CONTACT IS NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S USE OF E-VERIFY, GO BACK TO QUESTION QB1.)

Eligibility for regular employers using Web services software to interface with E-Verify to verify only own workers (Focus group 2)

QC13. Did your company register with E-Verify to verify your own workers only using customized software (e.g., human resources software) that interfaces with
E-Verify?

YES ………………..1 (GO TO SECTION D)

NO …………………2 [SAY] (Because we are looking for employers that use Web services software to verify their workers your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. (END)

DON’T KNOW…….3 (IF CONTACT IS NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S USE OF E-VERIFY, GO BACK TO QUESTION QB1.)

Eligibility for regular employers using the E-Verify directly to verify only own workers (Focus group 1)

QC14. Did your company register with E-Verify to verify your own workers only using the

E-Verify website

YES ………………..1 (GO TO SECTION D)

NO …………………2 [SAY] (Because we are looking for regular employers that use the E-Verify website your company is not eligible for this focus group. Thank you for your time. (END)

DON’T KNOW…….3 (IF CONTACT IS NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S USE OF E-VERIFY, GO BACK TO QUESTION QB1.)

SECTION D. [SCHEDULING THE FOCUS GROUP]

SEE DATE SCHEDULE – SCHEDULE PARTICIPANT ACCORDING TO CLASSIFICATION.

ALL FOCUS GROUPS WILL START AT [XX EASTERN TIME].

QD1. Approximately how many employees does your company currently have?

____________

# OF EMPLOYEES

QD2. The focus group will last for approximately one hour and will be done via WebEx. [ASK IF FAMILIAR WITH WEBEX AND IF NOT, EXPLAIN BRIEFLY] Will you be available to participate in a focus group on [DAY, DATE] at [XX Eastern time]?

. .

YES………..1 (CONTINUE WITH QD3)

NO…….…..2 (PROVIDE YOUR PHONE NUMBER AND E-MAIL ADDRESS AND ASK THE CONTACT PERSON TO CONTACT YOU IF THEY BECOME AVAILABLE ON THAT DAY AND TIME. THANK THEM AND END.]

QD3. I’ve scheduled you for the focus group on [Day, Date] starting at [XX Eastern time]. We will be sending you, by FedEx, a copy of the survey questions, a confirmation letter of your appointment day and time, instructions for completing the survey, and a return envelope. Please note that the WebEx software automatically records the focus group discussion.

To prepare for the focus group, please complete the questionnaire. Then make a copy of your completed questionnaire so you can discuss it in the focus group. Return the original completed survey to us in the pre-paid FedEx envelope that you received. We are particularly interested in the questions that have been highlighted in the survey.

What is the physical mailing address we should use to send the questionnaire and to send the incentive check after the focus group?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

May I have your email address so we can send the WebEx information?

________________________________EMAIL ADDRESS

That is all the information I need at this time. We will call you a few days in advance to remind you of the focus group and send a reminder email. If you have any questions, you may email NAME @ email or call 1-800-937-8281 ext. XXXX

Thank you very much for participating in this important study.

[FOCUS GROUP DESCRIPTION FOR CALLERS’ REFERENCE]

Focus Group 1. To reflect the characteristics of study samples used in previous iterations of the study and allow for analysis of change over time, Westat will select one focus group sample of “regular” employers registered to use E-Verify for the sole purpose of verifying their own employees using the E-Verify website. This group will complete all applicable questions in the base survey (Attachment A-1).

Focus Group 2. This group will comprise employers that registered to use E-Verify for the sole purpose of verifying their own employees using Web services software to interface with the E-Verify website. The employers will complete all applicable questions from the base survey (Attachment A-1).

Focus Group 3. This group will comprise EEAs that used the E-Verify website directly to verify only their own workers during the 12 months preceding the pretest. The EEAs will complete all applicable questions from the base survey (Attachment A-1).

Focus Group 4. This group will comprise both Web services and regular EEAs that verified only their clients’ workers during the 12 months preceding the pretest. The EEAs will complete a few applicable questions from Section A of the base survey (Attachment A-1) and remaining questions in Attachment A-2 for employers that verify only clients’ workers.

Focus Group 5. This group will comprise both Web services and regular EEAs that verified BOTH their clients’ workers and own workers during the 12 months preceding the pretest. The EEAs will complete a few applicable questions from Section A of the base survey (Attachment A-1) and remaining questions in Attachment A-3 for employers that verify both their own and clients’ workers.

Focus Group 6. This group will comprise clients of EEAs. They will answer a few applicable questions from Section A of the base survey (Attachment A-1) and the questions in Attachment A-4.