IMMIGRATION LAUNCHES PHOTO-VERIFICATION TOOL FOR EMPLOYERS

USCIS LAUNCHES PHOTO SCREENING TOOL FOR E-VERIFY PROGRAM

Photo tool will help employers detect some forms of identity fraud

WASHINGTON- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has launched a new photo-screening tool that will help employers comply with immigration law while also strengthening worksite enforcement. The photo tool will be the first step in giving employers the tools they need to help detect some forms of identity fraud in the employment eligibility process. The photo tool is the first enhancement in E-Verify, the agency's Web-based system that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees. More than 23,000 employers are currently enrolled in the program - with more than 2,000 more joining each month - and will now be able to access the new photo screening tool to more accurately verify a new non-citizen employee's identity.

"Our current E-Verify system is not fraud-proof and was not designed to detect identity fraud," said USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez. "The photo tool enhancement will give employers an additional resource to help verify identity and employment authorization status and is just one more valuable enhancement to an effective, fair and viable program."