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Alien (Non-citizen)
Any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States.
Admission Number or I-94 Number
An 11-digit number that is found on the Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94).
Alien Registration Number ("A" Number)/Alien ID Number/or Alien Number
A unique 7-, 8- or 9-digit number assigned to a non-citizen at the time his or her A-file is created.
Anti-Discrimination Notice
The Anti-Discrimination Notice is published by the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration
Related Unfair Employment Practices, Department of Justice and provides information to
employees concerning discrimination in the workplace. The Basic Pilot Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) requires participating employers to display both the English and
Spanish versions of the notice in a prominent place that is clearly visible to prospective employees.
Authorized Worker
An individual who is allowed to work legally in the United States.
Basic Pilot Program
The Basic Pilot is a voluntary pilot program in which employment eligibility of all newly hired employees will be
confirmed after the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) has been
completed. The pilot involves separate verification checks (if necessary) of databases
maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Basic Pilot Participation Notice
The Basic Pilot Notice informs perspective employees that a company is participating in the Basic Pilot
Program. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) requires participating employers to display
both the English and Spanish versions of the notice in a prominent place that is clearly
visible to prospective employees.
Case Verification Number
The Case Verification Number is a unique number returned by the Basic Pilot system.
Employers participating in the Basic Pilot Program are required to record the case
verification number on the employee's Form I-9 or to print the screen containing the
case verification number and attach it to the employee's Form I-9.
Designated Agent
A Designated Agent is an organization
appointed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security
Administration (SSA) to initiate the Basic Pilot verification procedures on
behalf of Employers in accordance with the Basic Pilot manual and Basic Pilot
Web-Based tutorial. The Designated Agent
produces the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be signed by participating
parties and using necessary equipment, the Designated Agent queries the
automated system using information supplied by the Employer and immediately
communicates responses back to the Employer. Further the Designated Agent
provides the Employer with all required notices as prescribed within the MOU.
DHS No Show
A response received when the employee
did not contact the Department of Homeland Security to resolve his or her case
and 10 Federal Government workdays have passed since the date of referral. The "No Show" response is
considered a Final Nonconfirmation.
Discrimination
Adverse treatment of individuals
based on group identity. In employment situations, discrimination is defined as
differential treatment based on individual characteristics, such as race or
gender that are unrelated to productivity or performance.
Document Type
Type of document(s) presented by the
newly hired employee to verify identity and employment eligibility.
Employment Authorized
The designation that an employee is
authorized to work in the United
States. Persons authorized to work include U.S.
citizens and nationals and
non-citizens of various employment-authorized statuses.
Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9)
Every time an employer hires any
employee to perform labor or services in return for wages or other remuneration,
the employee and the employer must complete the Form I-9.
This requirement applies to all employees
hired after November 6, 1986.
Employment Verification
Process of verifying authorization to
work in the United States.
Employment Verification Pilot (EVP)
One of the early verification pilot
programs instituted under the demonstration authority of the Immigration Reform
and Control Act of 1986, as authorized under Executive Order 12781, dated
November 20, 1991. This
pilot verified the employment status of non-citizens only.
Final Nonconfirmation
A result on the transaction database
indicating that the employee's work eligibility was not established because the
employee did not take the necessary action to resolve a tentative
nonconfirmation. This result is only
issued by the Basic Pilot system after the employer has been notified of a
tentative nonconfirmation response.
Foreign-born
An individual who was born outside of the United States.
American citizens can be foreign-born, either
because they were born abroad to at least one parent of
U.S. citizenship or because they were naturalized or derived U.S.
citizenship through their parents.
Fraudulent Documents
Identity and/or employment
authorization documents that are counterfeit or are legitimate but have been
altered to change the identifying information or images to represent another
person.
Green Card
A slang term describing the Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551).
Many versions of the I-551 are not green in color.
Handbook for Employers (M 274)
Document that provides a step-by-step
explanation of what an employer must do to meet its responsibilities under the
Employer Sanctions provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
It also explains the responsibilities and
rights of employees in the hiring and verification process and provides
expanded information about how to avoid employment discrimination based on
citizenship or national origin.
I-9 Form
The DHS form employers use to verify
the work authorization status of all newly hired workers in the United States.
The form was developed following passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
Illegal Alien
A foreign national who (1) entered
the United States without inspection or with fraudulent documentation or (2)
who, after entering legally as a non-immigrant, violated status and remained in
the United States without authorization.
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA)
A major immigration law enacted on
September 30, 1996. Among other
things, IIRIRA mandated that DHS conduct and evaluate three pilot verification
programs, including the Basic Pilot program.
Immigrant
A non-citizen who has been granted permanent lawful residence in the United States.
Immigrants either obtain immigrant visas at
consular offices overseas or, if a visa number is immediately available, adjust
status at United States Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) offices in the
United States. Also refers to an individual who has
moved to a new country with the intent of remaining there for 1 year or more.
(See also Lawful Permanent Resident)
Immigration Reform and Control Act 1986 (IRCA)
A major immigration law enacted on November 6, 1986, to gain
control over legal immigration. It provided for the legalization of certain
long-term undocumented aliens and agricultural workers, increased border
enforcement, and made it unlawful to hire undocumented workers. It also
required the U.S. employers verify the identity and work authorization status
of all persons they hire.
Immigration Status Verifiers (ISVs)
The group of DHS field office
employees who verify immigration status for benefits agencies and pilot
employers. One of their functions is to verify the status of individuals
receiving a tentative nonconfirmation from DHS.
Initial Verification
An automated query of the Social
Security Administration and if necessary the Department of Homeland Security
databases. Results will either verify
employment eligibility or require additional verification, which is conducted
through the Basic Pilot system.
Lawful Permanent Resident
A non-citizen who has been lawfully
granted the privilege of residing and working permanently in the
United States. (See also Immigrant)
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
A signed document in which an employer agrees to abide by
the provisions of the pilot program and in which DHS and SSA agree to provide
certain materials and services.
Non-Immigrant
A non-citizen who enters the United States temporarily for a specific period of time
and purpose. This category includes foreign government
officials, visitors for business and pleasure, students and temporary workers.
Notice to Employee of Tentative Nonconfirmation
This is a computer generated notice
given to an employee after a Tentative Nonconfirmation response has been
received from the SSA or DHS. If an
employee contests the Tentative Nonconfirmation response, he or she must
contact the appropriate Government Agency to resolve the discrepancy to continue
employment. An employee has 8
Federal Government workdays to resolve his or her case.
Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC)
Office established in the U.S.
Department of Justice by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 to
provide remedies for immigration-related discrimination related to employer
sanctions and employment verification. The office provides a mechanism for
dealing with discriminatory employment practices, including hiring and
discharge from employment based on citizenship status or national origin.
Passport
Any travel document issued by
competent authority showing the bearer's origin, identity and nationality, if
any, which is valid for the entry of the bearer into a foreign country.
If this document is used for Form I-9
purposes, it must be unexpired with either an I-551 stamp or an attached Form
I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization.
Permanent Resident or Legal Permanent Resident
A non-citizen who has been lawfully
granted the privilege of residing and working permanently in the
United States.
Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551, DEC 1997
Issued by the former INS after
December 1997, this card is the current version given to Permanent Resident
Aliens. The document is valid for 10
years. In the current version of the I-551, the card title was changed from
Resident Alien to Permanent Resident Card.
Prescreen
To evaluate the employment
authorization status of an individual before hiring him/her.
This practice is prohibited by the Immigration and Control Act of 1986.
Referral Notice
An employee contesting a Tentative
Nonconfirmation response from the SSA or the DHS, is provided with the
appropriate agency referral notice instructing him or her to contact the
government with 8 Federal Government workdays from the date of referral to
resolve any discrepancy in his or her record.
Sanctions (of employers)
A prohibition of Section 274A of the
Immigration and Nationality Act that makes it unlawful to hire or continue to
employ workers who are not authorized to work in the United States.
It provides for fines and imprisonment for
employers who knowingly hire workers who are not work-authorized.
Secondary Verification
The second stage of employment verification under the pilot programs.
For DHS, an Immigration Status Verifier reviews the case to determine
the availability of additional information relevant to an employee's work
authorization status. This step is required if there is a mismatch between the DHS
and SSA databases and the employee information entered by the employer.
Secure Documents
Documents that have special features
such as holograms, embedded images, biometric identifiers, or other security
features that make them difficult to counterfeit. Such documents are typically
issued through processes that are also secure.
Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE)
An intergovernmental information-sharing program administered by DHS and used by benefit-issuing
agencies and employment verification pilot employers to determine a
non-citizen's immigration status.
Tentative Nonconfirmation
The employee information was compared to Government records and could not be confirmed.
This does not mean that the employee is not work authorized, or that the information
provided was incorrect. The employee must contact either the SSA or
the DHS to resolve the discrepancy in order to continue employment.
Transaction Database
The administrative database that captures all Basic Pilot transactions by employers, SSA and DHS.
U.S. Citizen
An individual who is born in the United States or attains U.S. citizenship by being born
abroad to U.S citizen parents, by being naturalized or by deriving citizenship
following his/her parents' naturalization.
Unauthorized Worker
A non-citizen who does not have legal permission to work in the United States because of
his/her immigration status or because/she has applied and been found ineligible for work authorization.
Undocumented Immigrant
A non-citizen who does not have permission to enter or
reside in the United States. (See also Illegal Alien.)
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