E-Verify Delays During the 2025 Shutdown and Employer Impacts

(UNITED STATES) The federal E-Verify system went dark for more than a week during the government shutdown in October 2025, cutting off employers nationwide from the primary tool used to confirm new hires’ work authorization. The outage began when funding lapsed on October 1, 2025, and ran through October 8, according to Department of Homeland Security guidance shared with employers, with core functions of the program restored thereafter.

Operations for case creation effectively resumed on October 9, and authorities set a compressed catch-up deadline of Tuesday, October 14, 2025 for employers to enter cases for anyone hired during the outage. The disruption hit as companies moved through fall hiring cycles and immigrant workers sought to resolve pending checks on their records, widening stress in an already tight labor market and exposing how vulnerable the E-Verify system is to funding gaps.

Systems and tools affected

The shutdown pulled offline not only employer access to E-Verify accounts but also related tools that many businesses and workers rely on to keep hiring and onboarding moving.

• Employers could not create new cases, run reports, enroll new hiring sites, or view and act on existing cases.
• Employees had no access to myE-Verify and Self Check.
• Tools for handling Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs)—when initial data does not immediately confirm work eligibility—were also unavailable.

That left both sides of the hiring process in an awkward pause: employers were still expected to onboard, and workers were still starting jobs, but the usual electronic verification step was out of reach.

I-9 obligations remained

The law did not pause for Form I-9 requirements, which continue regardless of E-Verify’s status. Employers remained legally obligated to complete the Form I‑9 for every new hire within the usual three-business-day period, collecting identity and work authorization documents and recording the hire date.

• Large employers: maintained lists of hires by location and start date, preparing to upload verification data as soon as the system came back online.
• Small businesses: juggled paper files and reminder notes while hoping the later rush would not trigger avoidable data-entry mistakes.

DHS restore instructions and the catch-up window

When DHS restored access, the agency’s instructions were blunt and time-bound.

• Employers that hired during the shutdown had until October 14 to open cases for each affected employee, using the hire date recorded on the I-9.
• The E-Verify platform prompted users to select a reason code for the delayed case creation, with a drop-down option noting “E-Verify was unavailable.”

This step helped prevent late-case flags that might otherwise suggest improper timing. Compliance teams warned managers not to let the backlog spill past the deadline, especially in industries making large seasonal hires.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, employers with electronic I-9 systems that queued submissions during the outage generally cleared their backlogs faster than those relying on manual data entry, but all faced heightened risk if records were incomplete.

Impact on TNCs and immigrant workers

For immigrant workers, the most immediate effect was on TNC resolution timelines.

• A TNC can arise for routine reasons—name mismatches, recent status changes, or Social Security records not yet synced.
• Typically, a TNC triggers a set period for the employee to contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) or DHS to correct the issue.
• During the outage, the days when E-Verify was offline did not count toward those deadlines, protecting workers from losing their chance to resolve a TNC while the system was inaccessible.

Still, many were left in limbo, waiting to finalize the process that clears their file and reassures employers that all is in order. Workers hired during the shutdown felt the delay: even if their Form I‑9 was completed on time, confirmation through E-Verify had to wait until the system reopened.

Advocates urged employers to communicate that employees could continue working while a TNC was pending and that the pause days would not count against them.

Other agencies and downstream impacts

The shutdown’s reach extended beyond DHS systems.

• The Social Security Administration slowed processing of new Social Security number applications, delaying payroll starts for some new hires.
• The Department of Labor (DOL) halted adjudication of:
  • Labor Condition Applications (LCAs)
  • PERM labor certification applications
  • Prevailing wage requests

These pauses affected employers planning to file H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 petitions, which depend on certified LCAs. VisaVerge.com reported that short pauses at DOL can create weeks of downstream delay because each queue must restart and catch up once funding returns.

• USCIS largely continued processing during the shutdown, but some cases slowed as related agencies paused.
• ICE kept core enforcement activity running, though audits and inspections were put on hold.

Company responses and operational adjustments

Inside companies, the practical strain was real.

• HR teams documented hires meticulously, noted the outage on internal forms, and coordinated with legal counsel on wording for delayed E-Verify case notes.
• For remote I-9 verification, the three-day I-9 completion deadline still applied.
• Some electronic systems queued E-Verify submissions automatically; others required staff to submit each case manually.
• Employers that hired heavily between October 1 and October 8 assigned extra staff to data entry once access returned to avoid late cases or mismatches caused by rushed typing.

Workers who recently changed names, renewed passports, or adjusted status were likeliest to see TNCs due to common data mismatches across systems. The extension of TNC timelines during the outage offered breathing room, but uncertainty around final confirmation made some nervous about job security.

Federal contractors and compliance risk

Federal contractors faced distinct pressures.

• Many contracts require ongoing compliance with E-Verify rules, and some agencies issue specific instructions during funding lapses.
• Contractors were typically granted a grace period once E-Verify became unavailable, but compliance officers still had to track agency updates and prepare to act quickly when the system returned.
• Missing the October 14 catch-up deadline risked compounding obligations under immigration program rules and federal contract terms.

Key takeaways and recommended actions

As employers worked through the backlog, common compliance advice was:

1. Document everything.
2. Meet the October 14 deadline.
3. Use the outage reason code where applicable.

For workers:

• Respond promptly once TNC tools reopened.
• Bring requested documents to SSA or DHS as directed.
• Keep copies of any notices.

Employers planning to sponsor foreign workers were advised to adjust start dates and expectations because broader DOL processing would take time to recover.

“The law requires completing Form I‑9 regardless of E-Verify status; E-Verify is an additional verification step that depends on federal funding,” was the practical message to many HR and legal teams.

Policy implications and future planning

The episode underscored a policy fault line noted by business groups and immigrant advocates: E-Verify is central to many hiring workflows but remains tied to federal appropriations. When funding breaks, the verification chain breaks.

• Some employers called for statutory safeguards to keep the platform available during lapses or to formalize automatic deadline extensions and grace periods.
• Others cautioned that any such steps would require tight guardrails to avoid inconsistent treatment across agencies and contracting offices.

Employment lawyers expect the episode to inform future contract language and internal policies, including contingency plans for short-term outages and clearer onboarding scripts for affected workers.

Current status and resources

The immediate disruption has eased with the system back online and the deadline passed. Files have been updated and normal verification has resumed, but the experience left a mark.

• It reinforced the distinction between the I-9 duty, which never stops, and E-Verify checks, which can be interrupted.
• It reminded workers with pending TNCs that timeline rules account for system outages and that they are not penalized for days when the platform is down.
• It revived debate over protecting critical employment systems from future funding standoffs.

For reference and guidance:

• The federal E-Verify program page: https://www.e-verify.gov
• USCIS Form I‑9 (baseline requirement): https://www.uscis.gov/i-9

Employers and workers should update compliance playbooks, staffing plans, and onboarding scripts in light of lessons from October 2025 to reduce disruption if similar outages occur.