GENERAL INFORMATION · EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION
Form I-9 and E-Verify are related but different employment checks
Both processes concern work authorization, but one is a form completed for a new hire and the other is an electronic comparison available to participating employers.
Color video produced by USCIS and published January 13, 2021. The still comes from the agency's E-Verify enrollment walkthrough. It depicts the federal system discussed here; it does not show a real employee, employer query, tentative nonconfirmation, or case outcome. Watch on the verified USCIS YouTube channel ↗
Official agency-produced color video with player controls and closed captions. It is a historical enrollment walkthrough, not evidence about a particular worker or employer.
Form I-9 records a document review
USCIS describes Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, as the form employers use to verify a person's identity and authorization to work after hiring. The employee completes one part, and the employer examines acceptable documentation and completes its part. The form is a record of that process.
E-Verify is an electronic comparison
E-Verify is a web-based DHS system administered by USCIS in partnership with the Social Security Administration. Participating employers create a case using information from the employee's Form I-9. The system compares that information with government records and returns a case result.
Using one does not erase the other
E-Verify begins with information from Form I-9; it does not replace the form. USCIS also explains that participation rules vary. Some employers participate voluntarily, while federal contractors and employers in jurisdictions with separate requirements may have different obligations. This article does not determine which rule applies to any employer.
A system response is not an immigration-court judgment
E-Verify case results belong to an employment-verification process. They are not visa issuances, CBP admission decisions, ICE arrests, removal orders, or court judgments. A tentative mismatch is also different from a final case result.
Primary federal sources
Corrections: No corrections have been made. Substantive federal changes will be verified and dated separately.