USCIS Suspends E-Verify During Shutdown

On October 1st, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the E-Verify system had been suspended. Generally, the agency claimed that the disruption is due to the ongoing government shutdown. Correspondingly, USCIS was in the process of taking the system offline at the time of the announcement. Earlier, in April, the USCIS announced updates to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

What Is the E-Verify System?

Overall, E-Verify is a web-based system that confirms the eligibility of possible or current employees to work in the U.S. Specifically, employers verify the identity and employment eligibility of newly hired employees by electronically matching the information provided by employees. For instance, E-Verify compares the data entered on Form I-9 with records from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Due to this fact, correctly utilizing E-Verify is key to the Form I-9 process.

Meanwhile, the system saves an employer’s E-Verify employment records for potential access later. For the most part, the program is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Additionally, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands use E-Verify. As of this month, at least 22 states require some employers or public entities to use E-Verify.

State E-Verify Mandates

The following states require all or most businesses to use the E-Verify system when hiring new employees:

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Florida
• Georgia
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Utah

In some cases, certain states only require public employers to use E-Verify. These states include:

• Colorado
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• Texas
• Virginia
• West Virginia

E-Verify Use During Government Shutdowns

Although E-Verify is authorized under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), the system is not funded through user fees. Instead, E-Verify relies on annual appropriations from Congress. Given that, it’s important to realize that the E-Verify system was also suspended during past shutdowns. The current September 30 shutdown is no different.

Accordingly, employers are currently unable to:

• enroll in the system,
• initiate new cases,
• manage or receive updates on existing ones, or
• access technical support while the shutdown continues.

Current Form I-9 Obligations

Overall, USCIS wants employers to know that the shutdown of the E-Verify system does not clear them of any Form I-9 obligations. Those responsibilities have not changed. Employers must ensure that workers complete Form I-9 Section 1 on or before their first day of work, and that the business completes Section 2 within three business days of the employee’s start date. The only update regarding E-Verify submission is that, while businesses previously had three days to submit all records into the system, the deadline has now been extended to the time when E-Verify is restored.

Employer Takeaways

In conclusion, as mentioned previously, nothing regarding the overall Form I-9 process is changing during the government shutdown. Instead, the only step that will be different for the time being is submitting immigration and citizenship information through E-Verify. Businesses must still complete the various steps of Form I-9 documentation on schedule. Lastly, employers should monitor the E-Verify home page for any updates on the status of the E-Verify system.