Privacy Impact Assessement Update for the E-Verify Program

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Privacy Impact Assessment Update
for the

E-Verify Program
DHS/USCIS/PIA-030(d)
July 27, 2012
Contact Point
Brian C. Hobbs
Privacy Branch Chief
Verification Division
US Citizenship and Immigration Services
(202) 443-0114
Reviewing Official
Mary Ellen Callahan
Chief Privacy Officer
Department of Homeland Security
(202) 343-1717

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USCIS, E-Verify Program Update
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Abstract
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) Verification Division is publishing this update to the DHS/USCIS-030 EVerify Program PIA and its updates. 1 USCIS administers the E-Verify program, which allows
participating employers the ability to verify the employment eligibility of all newly hired
employees. The purpose of this update is to: (1) describe collection and verification of the
foreign passport country of issuance (COI) through the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status
Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program’s Arrival and Departure Information System (ADIS);
and (2) discuss the decommissioning of the Image Storage and Retrieval System (ISRS) and the
Reengineered Naturalization Applications Casework System (RNACS) subsystems. The
functionality previously provided by ISRS and RNACS will be replaced by the Customer Profile
Management System (CPMS) and Claims Linked Application Information Management System 4
(CLAIMS 4), 2 respectively.

Introduction
E-Verify is a free, and in most cases voluntary, Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
program implemented by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and
operated in collaboration with the Social Security Administration (SSA). It allows employers to
compare information provided by employees on the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility
Verification, against information in federal and state government databases 3 in one location. EVerify validates that an employee has authorization to work in the U.S., either because he or she
is a U.S. citizen or because he or she is a non-U.S. Citizen whom the United States has granted
work authorization. E-Verify was mandated by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA).
The E-Verify system determines employment eligibility by verifying an applicant’s
immigration status based on a primary identifier that employees provide on Form I-9. 4 At least
one primary identifier is required for DHS verification of employment eligibility. For U.S.

1

See the E-Verify Program PIA (DHS/USCIS/PIA-030), the E-Verify Use of Commercial Data PIA
(DHS/USCIS/PIA-030(a)) and the E-Verify RIDE PIA ((DHS/USCIS/PIA-030(c)) available at
www.dhs.gov/privacy
2 See PIA at DHS/USCIS/PIA-015 Computer Linked Application Information Management System
(CLAIMS4) and updates and SORN at DHS/USCIS-007 Benefits Information System 73 Fed. Reg. 56596
(Spetember 29, 2008).
3
See the E-Verify Program PIA (DHS/USCIS/PIA-030) available at www.dhs.gov/privacy for the full list
of immigration record systems
4
See the Form I-9 PIA (DHS/USCIS/PIA-036) and its updates available at www.dhs.gov/privacy for a full
explanation of the Form I-9.

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citizens, the primary identifier is a Social Security Number (SSN). For non-U.S. Citizens, a
primary identifier is currently an Alien Registration number (A-Number) or an I-94 number. 5
USCIS is updating the E-Verify Program PIA and its previous to: (1) describe collection
of the foreign passport COI from employers using E-Verify and subsequent verification through
the US-VISIT ADIS; and (2) discuss the decommissioning of the ISRS and the RNACS
subsystems. The functionality previously provided by ISRS and RNACS will be replaced by
CPMS and CLAIMS 4, respectively. RNACS was decommissioned in 2011 and ISRS was
decommissioned in 2012.

Country of Issuance
E-Verify currently uses the I-94 number as the primary identifier for nonimmigrants
when querying federal databases to make an employment authorization determination. U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is in the process of automating the I-94 system to increase
efficiency and streamline the admission process for travelers to the United States. However,
since E-Verify depends on the integrity of this number and the process is still under development,
USCIS has developed a new primary identifier that may be used independent from the I-94
process. E-Verify will now have the capability to verify employment authorization using a
combination of foreign passport number and COI. Combining these two data elements makes
them a primary identifier. 6 This enhancement requires the new collection of COI from E-Verify
users. E-Verify will send this information through an existing interface and compare it to COI
from DHS/US-VISIT/ADIS. 7 The collection of COI improves the efficiency of the verification
process and addresses the changes in the admission process for travelers.
The specific changes required to accommodate this initiative are as followed:

5

•

USCIS will update the E-Verify interface to enable employers to enter the
Foreign Passport Number and COI if the employee selects “Alien Authorized to
Work” and provides this information on the Form I-9; 8

•

E-Verify will receive one additional data element (Foreign Passport COI) from
the existing DHS/US-VISIT ADIS connection; and

•

USCIS updated the Form I-9 to include a Foreign Passport COI data field.9

Form I-94 is a DHS form generally issued to aliens at the time they lawfully enter the United States.
Form I-94 is used to document status in the United States, the length of stay, and departure.
6
A primary identifier is a value that relates to a single person for the purpose of searching a database. A
standalone passport number does not result in a primary identifier because there is a possibility that
multiple countries could issue the same passport number. However, because a country would only issue a
passport number once, when combining the passport number with the COI, this information becomes a
primary identifier for employment authorization verification.
7
For a full description of ADIS, please refer to the ADIS PIA (DHS/NPPD/USVISIT/PIA-005) at
www.dhs.gov/privacy
8
On Form I-9, employees who select “Alien Authorized to Work” are required to provide either an ANumber, I-94 Number, or foreign passport and COI. The employer then enters the data provided by the
employee into E-Verify.

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Decommissioning of Subsystems
Image Storage and Retrieval System (ISRS)
USCIS decommissioned the ISRS subsystem, which provided access to biometric and
related biographic information used to verify the identity of registered aliens and monitor illegal
entry into and residence in the United States. It was a centralized repository of USCIS biometric
data including the photo, pressprint, and signature of applicants who have been issued a
Permanent Resident Card or an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). E-Verify used
ISRS as a means to provide the individual’s photograph on file to the employer so that the
employer could verify the photograph the individual provides against the photograph DHS has on
file. With the decommissioning of ISRS, E-Verify will now use the CPMS for the E-Verify
Photo Screening Tool.
E-Verify employers will continue to use the Photo Screening Tool when an employee
presents a Permanent Resident Card or EAD. However, the Photo Screening Tool will now
provide relevant information for verification from CPMS. If the employer indicates the picture
from CPMS does not match the picture on the document, then the query will result in a DHS
Tentative Non-confirmation (TNC) 10 and the employee has the right to contest the finding. If the
employee chooses to exercise that right, USCIS Status verifiers will request a photocopy of the
document and use CPMS to validate the photograph, signature, receipt number, name (Last, First,
Middle), DOB, country of birth, form number, and expiration date of the provided document.

Reengineered Naturalization Applications Casework System (RNACS)
USCIS decommissioned the RNACS subsystem, which provided case tracking and
management capability for naturalization casework. E-Verify previously used RNACS for
primary verification of employment verification based on an individual becoming a naturalized
U.S. Citizen. This function is now accomplished using CLAIMS 4, an existing E-Verify system
interface. Prior to the decommissioning of RNACS, USCIS migrated all open Application for
Citizenship cases to CLAIMS 4.
By using CLAIMS 4, USCIS will continue to electronically track applicants through the
naturalization process (N-400, Application for Naturalization), citizenship process (N-600,
Application for Citizenship), and the Applications for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship
Documents process (N-565). E-Verify status verifiers will now use CLAIMS 4 to manually
verify an applicant’s Naturalization Certificate if E-Verify cannot automatically determine
employment eligibility. In this situation, the employee would call DHS to contest a DHS TNC
and submit a photocopy of the naturalization certificate used for Form I-9. E-Verify status
verifiers will use CLAIMS 4 to validate the following information and make a final determination
on employment eligibility: alien number; name (Last, First, Middle); DOB; birth country; gender;
9

The addition of this data field, and all other updates to the Form I-9, is in the Form I-9 PIA Update, found
at www.dhs.gov/privacy.
10
For a detailed description a DHS TNC, please refer to the E-Verify PIA (DHS/USCIS/PIA-030) at
www.dhs.gov/privacy.

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nationality; citizenship naturalization date/time; citizenship certificate identification ID;
immigration status; and address.

Reason for the PIA Update
USCIS is updating the DHS/USCIS/PIA-030 E-Verify Program PIA and subsequent
updates: (1) describe collection and verification of the foreign passport COI through US-VISIT
ADIS; and (2) discuss the decommissioning of the ISRS and RNACS subsystems. The
functionality previously provided by these subsystems will be replaced by CPMS and CLAIMS
4, respectively. As a result of this update, the E-Verify program will be able to query DHS/USVISIT ADIS for foreign passport and country of issuance as a new means of identifying an
individual.

Privacy Impact Analysis
In each of the below sections consider how the system has changed and what impact it has on the below
fair information principles. In some cases there may be no changes and indicate as such.

The System and the Information Collected and Stored within the System
E-Verify will receive one new data element, foreign passport COI, from the employer
and it will be verified using ADIS, an existing system interface. The collection of both foreign
passport and country of issuance creates a primary identifier by which USCIS is able to determine
employment eligibility for an individual.
The use of COI remains in line with the original purpose of the program and does not
create any new privacy risks for affected individuals. The privacy impact for the individual
providing the foreign passport COI is minimal as he or she is already sharing the COI with the
employer by presenting a foreign passport as part of the Form I-9 process. By entering this
information into E-Verify, it will increase the accuracy of matching an individual passport
number with the correct individual and returning an accurate employment eligibility
determination.
The collection and transmission process for information into the system has not changed
as Form I-9 continues to act as the initial data collection for information to be verified by EVerify. Employees and employers provide the information on Form I-9 upon hire or within three
days of starting work for pay. 11 Employers will continue to manually validate the information on
Form I-9 against the information in E-Verify.
ADIS is not the original source of COI. As a result, receiving COI from ADIS poses the
risk that the data is not accurate. This risk was previously identified in the ADIS PIA
(DHS/NPPD/USVISIT/PIA-005(a)). ADIS mitigates this risk by receiving some duplicative PII
as an intentional mechanism to ensure the accuracy of the information. This data integrity
mechanism makes ADIS a reliable source of information for determining immigration status.
11

Comprehensive instructions for completing Form I-9 is available at: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/m274.pdf

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Changing the use of RNACS to CLAIMS 4 does not result in an additional privacy risk,
as E-Verify already connects to CLAIMS 4 for naturalization information. USCIS previously
used both RNACS and CLAIMS 4 to verify naturalization case information. However, prior to
the decommissioning of RNACS, USCIS migrated all open Application for Citizenship cases
from RNACS to CLAIMS 4. USCIS identified CLAIMS 4 as a source in previous PIAs and
USCIS is not receiving any additional information as a result of this change.
There is no additional privacy risk as a result of switching data sources from ISRS to
CPMS. CPMS fully replaced all functionality of ISRS and USCIS will not receive any additional
information as a result of this change.
There is no change in storage as a result of this update. DHS/USCIS will continue
storing and maintaining all transactional data in the Verification Information System (VIS),
which is the underlying technology for E-Verify. Since there is no change to the storage, the
privacy impact has not changed.

Uses of the System and the Information
E-Verify uses the information it receives to determine employment authorization. Since
there is no change to the uses of the system and the information, there is also no change to the
privacy impact. E-Verify will now use the combination of foreign passport number and COI as a
primary identifier to query the immigration status of an individual. The determination of
immigration status is a key component of determining employment authorization of non-citizens.

Retention
The National Archives Retention Act (NARA) schedule [N1-566-08-7], approved on
June 5, 2008, has not changed. E-Verify retains information for ten (10) years from the date of
the completion of the verification, unless the records are part of an on-going investigation, in
which case they may be retained until completion of the investigation. This period is based on
the statute of limitations for most types of misuse or fraud possible using E-Verify (under 18
U.S.C. § 3291, the statute of limitations for false statements or misuse regarding passports,
citizenship or naturalization documents). Since retention remains the same, there is no further
privacy impact as a result of this update.

Internal Sharing and Disclosure
There are no changes in internal sharing and disclosure as a result of this update. The
internal sharing and disclosure of this information remains consistent with the previously
published E-Verify PIA (DHS/USCIS/PIA-030).

External Sharing and Disclosure
There is no change to external sharing and disclosure as a result of this update. The
external sharing and disclosure of this information remains consistent with the previously
published E-Verify PIA (DHS/USCIS/PIA-030).

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Notice
This PIA, reissuing of the DHS/USCIS-011 E-Verify Program SORN, and the
instructions of the Form I-9 provide notice of the changes to the E-Verify Program. USCIS also
completed the PRA requirements for updating Form I-9, which included publishing the changes
in the Federal Register and allowing the public to comment on the changes.

Individual Access, Redress, and Correction
There are no changes to the access, redress, and corrections procedures identified in the
previously published E-Verify PIA (DHS/USCIS/PIA-030). This update creates no increased
privacy impact.

Technical Access and Security
The technical access and security controls for E-Verify have not changed. The changes
described in this PIA update are in conformance with existing technical access and security
safeguards that are described in the previously published E-Verify PIA (DHS/USCIS/PIA-030).

Technology
There are two changes in technology as a result of this update. First, E-Verify will
discontinue receiving information from RNACS and ISRS. Second, as a result of this update,
DHS/US-VISIT ADIS will send an additional data element, foreign passport COI. However, this
additional element will come through an existing system interface and therefore does not increase
the privacy impact.

Responsible Official
Brian C. Hobbs
Privacy Branch Chief
USCIS Verification Division
Department of Homeland Security

Approval Signature

________________________________
Mary Ellen Callahan
Chief Privacy Officer
Department of Homeland Security