E-Verify went offline when the government shutdown began on October 1, 2025, but the system is now back up and running. Employers should resume using E-Verify immediately and review the new tight deadlines and procedures announced by the agency for the coming days.

Create E-Verify cases for employees hired during the system outage. Employers using E-Verify are required to open a case by Tuesday, October 14, for each employee hired while the system was offline. When creating the E-Verify case, employers should use the hire date listed on the employee’s Form I-9.

Due to the system outage, many new E-Verify cases will be entered after the third business day from the employee’s first day of work for pay. If that is the case for employees, E‑Verify will prompt the employer during case creation to provide a reason for the delay. The employer should select “Other” from the “Select a Reason for Delay” drop-down menu and enter “E‑Verify not Available” as the specific reason in the “Reason for Delay” text box. E-Verify clarified that any days the system was unavailable will be excluded from the three-business-day timeframe normally required to create a case.

Tentative Nonconfirmations (Mismatches). E-Verify also provided guidance on how employers should proceed if an employee receives a mismatch during the verification process. If an employee received a mismatch and notified the employer of their intention to contest it, and the employer provided the employee with the Referral Date Confirmation, the employer must revise the date by which the employee must contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to begin resolving the mismatch.

E-Verify has provided three methods employers can use to update the “Referral Date Confirmation” notice with a revised date:

1. Print a new “Referral Date Confirmation” notice that will have the new date employees must contact SSA or DHS to begin resolving their mismatch. To reprint a copy of the employee’s “Referral Date Confirmation,” log in to E‑Verify, select the employee’s case, and select the “Print Confirmation” button.
    
2. Log in to E‑Verify, select the employee’s case to find their new referral date, and write the new date on the previously issued “Referral Date Confirmation” notice.
    
3. Add six (6) federal business days to the date on your employee’s “Referral Date Confirmation” notice. Federal business days are Monday through Friday and do not include federal holidays.

E-Verify clarified that for mismatch cases referred after operations resumed, employers should not extend the time employees have to contact the SSA or DHS. If the employee decided to contest the mismatch when E‑Verify was unavailable, you should now refer the employee’s case and follow the mismatch process.

E-Verify also noted that its customer support team will likely receive an increased number of inquiries, leading to potential delays in response times.

For questions or additional support complying with this guidance, please contact a member of our Labor, Employment & Immigration team.