On November 14 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule requiring certain federal contractors, including colleges and universities, to participate in the Department of Homeland Security E-Verify system, an internet-based method of checking the eligibility of individuals for legal employment. The rule is effective January 15, 2009 and applies to federal contracts with a value of $100,000 or more and a performance period longer than 120 days. The final rule also applies to subcontracts from covered contracts that have a value over $3,000.

Under the rule, colleges and universities participating in covered federal contracts will have the option using E-Verify to verify the employment eligibility of all newly-hired employees, or of limiting their participation to just those workers, current or new-hires, assigned to federal contract work. Some states have also enacted legislation requiring public agencies or most or major employers to participate in the E-Verify system.

This program will cover the requirements of and compliance with the new rule, including:

• Who is a "federal contractor" and what contracts are covered by the rule
• How the E-Verify system works
• How institutions enroll in and use the system, including dealing with negative eligibility results
• Determining and tracking employees assigned to covered contracts
• Practical compliance considerations and concerns