The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Thursday, October 9, 2025, that the agency has resumed operations of E-Verify. As noted in our previous alert, USCIS temporarily suspended E-Verify functions on October 1, 2025 due to the federal government shutdown and related funding lapses.
The USCIS announcement instructs employers to create an E-Verify case by Tuesday, October 14, 2025 for each employee hired while the E‑Verify system was not available. Employers are further instructed to use the hire date from the employee’s Form I‑9 when creating the E‑Verify case.
If an employer was unable to create an E‑Verify case within three (3) business days after an employee began work for pay because E‑Verify was unavailable, they will be prompted during case creation to provide a reason for the delay. They 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. Importantly, the days when E‑Verify was unavailable will not count toward the three-business day window employers usually have to create a case in E-Verify.
The announcement also includes specific instructions for employers and employees to resolve mismatches that occurred while services were suspended, as well as additional guidance for federal contractors subject to E-Verify requirements.
If you have any questions, please contact attorney Andrew Mahon or any member of Barley Snyder’s Immigration Practice Group.
