A New Round of 500 I-9 Notices of Inspections (NOIs) 4/12

I-9 and E-Verify News Updates

by Ann Cunon April 5, 2012

In the world of I-9 and E-Verify News, updates come and go very quickly. I’m keeping this blog short and sweet, especially in light of our big Webinar on Electronic I-9 Implementations today!

A New Round of 500 Notices of Inspections (NOIs)

According to our immigration practitioner partners in the field, ICE recently sent another round of 500 new Notices of Inspection (NOIs) last Thursday, March 29, 2012, to employers in several states. This is in addition to the last round announced in February this year. That brings us to 1,000 NOIs announced (and maybe issued already) to date for 2012. NOIs are, in essence, a notice from ICE that an organization has been selected for an inspection of its I-9 Forms and other accompanying business documents.

As with previous NOI announcements, ICE does not to release many details regarding its audits (for good reason). Typically, you won’t read about NOI announcements in any official government release (save at the end of the fiscal year when ICE will report on total numbers of inspections conducted). We’ll be providing more details on this latest audit sweep direct from our partners, so stay tuned!

Alabama’s E-Verify Law Is Now In Effect

Alabama’s E-Verify law (HB56) is officially in effect for most organizations in the state. As of April 1, 2012, employers and business entities in the state of Alabama must enroll in the federal E-Verify program. The Associated Press ran an article yesterday detailing how enrollment compliance has been for local employers in Alabama. According to the Associated Press article, USCIS reports a little over 18,000 employers in Alabama have enrolled in the E-Verify Program. That’s less than 5% of the total number of companies doing business in Alabama, according to records from the Alabama Department of Revenue.

One of the interesting points raised was the issue of how employers have educated themselves on the necessity to enroll in E-Verify. At least until the United States Supreme Court decides on Arizona v. United States regarding SB1070, and perhaps even in spite of the ruling this upcoming June, states are left to their own devices when it comes to enacting E-Verify laws. This leaves employers with a duty to stay tuned to how local laws will affect the way they conduct business.

USCIS Makes List of E-Verify Enrolled Employers Available

We wondered for a long time if and when USCIS would make publicly available a list of employers enrolled in the Federal E-Verify Program. The wait has finally ended (sort of). USCIS has indeed made available a list of these employers on its website. The list will be updated quarterly, but note that it is NOT a comprehensive list.

I-9 and E-Verify News Updates - The I-9 and E-Verify Blog