United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) appears to be on a big technology kick lately. Earlier this week, we reported on the agency's proposed advanced registration system for filing H-IB petitions. Now the agency is pursuing technologies aimed at making E-Verify and the I-9 form more user-friendly, according to Immigration Daily.

The first of these tools, E-Verify Self Check, was scheduled to go into effect this past Friday, March 18.  According to Immigration Daily, This new Web site allows employees to run themselves through E-Verify before a potential employer does so they can identify and fix any problems before they are hired.  

To start, the individual must first enter some basic personal information, such as their name, address, date of birth, and Social Security Number (optional).  They will then have to answer some questions only they should know the answer to in order to prove their identity. Once they have passed the "identity proofing quiz," they can run an E-Verify query to determine if they are eligible to work in the United States.

If you would like to see how this works, the USCIS Web site offers an "E-Verify Self Check Interactive Preview."  

Immigration Daily also reports that USCIS is developing an I-9 compliance Web site to be named "I-9 Central."  The site will give detailed instructions on how to complete the I-9 form with the goal of reducing the most common errors employers make on the form.  To that end, USCIS is also considering enhancing its pdf version of the I-9 form to include interactive tools such as help text and drop-down boxes.

Debbie Fledderjohann is the President of Top Echelon Contracting, Inc.