Visa Lawyer Blog
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Southern Division on August 25, 2009, denied the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s challenge to an amendment to the Federal Appropriation Regulation (FAR) that makes E-Verify mandatory for federal contractors. As a result, as of September 8, 2009, the FAR requires participating vendors and flow-down subcontractors to initiate E-Verify for all active and new employees. Hence, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has reminded Federal contractors and subcontractors to use the E-Verify system to verify their employees’ eligibility to work in the United States effective Sept. 8, 2009. Janet Napolitano, Department of Homeland Security Secretary recently stressed on the need for employment eligibility verification by announcing the Administration’s support for the regulation that will award federal contracts only to employers who use E-Verify to check employee work authorization. Companies awarded a contract with the E-Verify clause after Sept. 8 will be required to enroll in E-Verify within 30 days of the contract award date.
E-Verify will be used to confirm that all new hires, whether employed on a federal contract or not, and existing employees directly working on these contracts are legally authorized to work in the United States. The Federal Acquisition Rule; Case 2007-013; Employment Eligibility Verification extends use of the E-Verify system to covered federal contractors and subcontractors, including those who receive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.