Post-Shutdown E-Verify: Three-Day Rule Restored With Grace Period

(UNITED STATES) The federal government’s reopening has restarted the E-Verify site nationwide and reactivated the “three-day rule” for creating new cases, with a concrete catch-up window for employers that hired workers during the outage.

Officials confirmed that employers must enter E-Verify cases for hires made while the system was offline by October 14, 2025, and they must use the original start date from the employee’s Form I-9. In practical terms, the days when E-Verify was unavailable during the shutdown do not count toward the normal timeframe for opening a case. That adjustment, paired with extended timelines for resolving Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs)—the mismatches that require follow-up—means employers and workers won’t be penalized for delays caused by a system they could not access. The change applies across the United States 🇺🇸 and affects employers large and small, from national chains that run thousands of checks a week to family businesses that handle a handful of new hires each month.

What employers must do now

• Enter every hire made during the outage as an E-Verify case by October 14, 2025.
• Use the original start date listed on the employee’s Form I-9 when creating each case.
• Continue standard E-Verify case handling for anyone hired after services resumed.

The days when the system was down do not count toward normal deadlines, and employers aren’t penalized for delays caused by the outage.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, this mirrors past shutdown handling and is intended to protect both employers and workers from technical timing traps.

How TNC (Tentative Nonconfirmation) timing works after the outage

TNCs occur when an employee’s information does not match government records—often due to name changes, data-entry errors, or database mismatches.

• The clock for resolving TNCs was paused during the outage.
• The outage days do not count against the eight federal working days normally allowed for next steps.
• When services resumed, the TNC timeframe picked up where it left off.

This preserves employees’ rights to fix mismatches and employers’ responsibilities to follow through. A worker mid-process when the outage began won’t lose their job because E-Verify halted.

I-9 obligations remain separate and unchanged

• Completing Form I-9 on time for every new hire is still required, regardless of E-Verify availability.
• E-Verify is a separate process some employers use to check work authorization against federal records.
• New hires made during the outage should already have I-9s completed; employers now need to add E-Verify entries using each employee’s original hire date.

For official guidance:
– E-Verify site: E-Verify.gov
– I-9 form and instructions: Form I-9

Practical impact and workload

Many employers face a compressed workload:

• Multi-state companies will submit large batches of older start dates.
• Small businesses may need to enter a handful of cases.
• Payroll and HR software vendors are updating queues to avoid duplicates and match entries to original Form I-9 dates.

The October 14, 2025 deadline is the safety valve to complete what could not be done earlier. HR directors say the timeline should be sufficient if teams prioritize recordkeeping and queue older hires first.

Documentation and legal best practices

Legal counsel and specialists recommend:

1. Keep a dated log of:
   • When the shutdown began and ended
   • Which hires fell into the outage window
   • When E-Verify cases were created
   • How pre-shutdown TNCs were handled after the restart
2. Document I-9 verification performed on time and storage of supporting documents.
3. Note that the pause applies only while E-Verify was genuinely unavailable—no broader delay for hires after restart.

Clear notes help explain unusual timing if audited later and show good-faith efforts to comply.

Special considerations for paper-based and outsourced employers

• Employers using paper I-9s must identify hires who need E-Verify entries and follow up promptly.
• Organize I-9 binders by hire date and confirm corresponding E-Verify submissions by October 14, 2025.
• Outsourcing firms should confirm their vendor’s plan to clear the backlog and communicate status updates to local managers.

Industries with high turnover or seasonal hiring

• Restaurants, retail, construction, and logistics are likeliest to see many hires and potential mismatches.
• Pausing the TNC clock preserves fairness where workers must visit government offices or gather documents.
• Workers should still respond quickly to TNC notices; employers must provide required notices and support.

Handling TNCs after the restart

If a TNC appears after the system returned:

• Employer prints and shares the Further Action Notice.
• Employer explains the notice in plain language and allows the worker to decide whether to contest.
• If contested, employer follows standard E-Verify instructions (possibly involving SSA or DHS contacts).
• The eight federal working days apply as usual, minus outage days that did not count.

Important: A TNC is not a final decision—it’s an opportunity to correct records.

Risk management and audits

• The shutdown pause does not excuse unrelated errors: wrong hire dates, missing TNC notices, or failure to create cases after restart remain problems.
• Employers are advised to run internal audits verifying:
  • Correct hire dates were used
  • All affected hires were entered before October 14, 2025
  • TNCs reopened after the restart were handled properly
• Train supervisors to flag cases where employees couldn’t secure government appointments and to document efforts to comply.

Vendor and software updates

• Vendors connecting HR systems to E-Verify are tuning tools to:
  • Avoid duplicate submissions
  • Match entries to the hire’s Form I-9 date
• Common employer questions concern changed start dates or postponed first days. Guidance: use the actual start date listed on the I-9 and submit during the catch-up window.

Worker guidance and protections

• Workers with recent name changes, multiple surnames, or database issues may still see a TNC.
• A TNC is a request for more information—not termination.
• Employers should reassure workers and follow E-Verify instructions. Employee resources are available at E-Verify.gov.

Key takeaways

• E-Verify is back and the three-day rule is active again for hires made after the restart.
• Employers must submit E-Verify cases for hires made during the outage by October 14, 2025, using the original Form I-9 start date.
• TNC timelines remain eight federal working days, excluding outage days, so no one is harmed by the downtime.
• Maintain careful records, respect employee rights, and prioritize the backlog to return to routine compliance.

With these steps and documentation, employers and workers can move past the disruption and ensure E-Verify operates smoothly in daily hiring and verification work.