USCIS, Mississippi Implement New E-Verify Tool

On June 13, 2011, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) launched “Records and Information from DMVs for E-Verify (RIDE),” a new feature that allows the agency’s E-Verify program to validate the authenticity of Mississippi driver’s licenses used by employees as Form I-9 identity documents.

More than 80 percent of employees present driver’s licenses to establish their identities when undergoing the I-9 employment authorization verification process. By enabling E-Verify to compare driver’s license data against state records, USCIS said, RIDE will improve E-Verify’s accuracy and help combat document fraud while observing safeguards to protect employees’ personal data. “RIDE helps combat document fraud by enabling E-Verify to confirm the authenticity of an additional identity document,” USCIS said. For example, previously, if an employee presented a driver’s license to establish his or her identity and a Social Security card to establish his or her authorization to work, E-Verify would only have been able to confirm the validity of the Social Security card. RIDE enables E-Verify employers in Mississippi to confirm the validity of both documents.

The new E-Verify RIDE feature builds on existing technology and infrastructure that the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (MDPS) and other state public safety departments use in conjunction with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Mississippi is the first state to partner with USCIS to implement RIDE.

Currently, 4,336 employers representing more than 9,000 worksites in Mississippi use E-Verify. Nationwide, more than 269,000 employers at over 900,000 worksites are enrolled in the E-Verify program.