E-Verify Renewed!

Many employers are aware of the program, E-Verify, which allows employers to look up the information in an employee's I-9 and verify if said employee is legally allowed to work in the United States. The U.S. House of Representatives passed bill S. 3245 on September 13, which would reauthorize for three years E-Verify as well as certain immigrant visa programs that were set to expire at the end of September.

The bill re-authorized the following programs:

• E-Verify program
• EB-5 Regional Center program
• Special Immigrant Non-Minister Religious Worker program
• Conrad State 30 J-1 Visa Waiver program

The reauthorization of these programs would be in effect until September 30, 2015. E-Verify is a free service that allows employers to verify newly hired employees are legally allowed to work in the United States by doing so electronically. More than 300,000 employers use E-Verify, including the federal government, legislative branch and contractors.

The Immigrant Investor Program, or also known EB-5, was created to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors, with a minimum investment requirement of $1,000,000.
The Conrad State 30 J-1 program waives the two-year residence requirement under the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program for international medical graduates who have finished their medical education in the U.S. and choose to work at least three years in areas that lack medical availability.
The Non-Minister Religious Worker program provides special immigrant visas so that religious organizations may sponsor foreign nationals to come to the United States and provide religious services.

To learn more about these programs and the E-Verify program, visit The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.