E-Verify has made another step forward. Recall E-Verify is a free Federal Internet-based service for employers to voluntarily join that compares information from an employee’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment eligibility. If information matches, then the employee is eligible to work in the United States. However, if there is an issue, then the employer is alerted of the issue and the employee is required to resolve.
The step forward that E-Verify made relates to RIDE (or Records and Information from DMVs for E-Verify). Specifically, North Dakota became the latest member to join RIDE. RIDE enhances the E-Verify system by enabling a verification of state specific identity documents. RIDE incorporates data entered by employers against state motor vehicle department records.
North Dakota is now one of five states that participate in RIDE (the others being Florida, Idaho, Iowa, and Mississippi). Now, when an employee presents a Nebraska driver’s license or identification card as their List B documents on the Form I-9, E-Verify will prompt the employer to enter the document information and will “double” verify it against state records.
While RIDE is a slowly growing addition to the E-Verify program, it is becoming a more efficient way for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to detect fraudulent documents and it is only a matter of time before more states join in.