Have you heard of the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sunset plans for Remote I-9 due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Good news! This change does NOT impact customers using Fountain’s Authorized Representative I-9 feature (formally called Remote I-9). Fountain’s Authorized Representative I-9 feature is not remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic which temporarily permitted employers to examine the employee’s I-9 documentation virtually over video, fax or email.

Instead, Fountain Authorized Representative I-9 allows companies to designate an Authorized Representative via the applicant’s selected representative to physically examine their documents. Our customers who use Authorized Representative I-9 need not worry about this announcement and do not have any further actions required.

Please note that if you choose to collect I-9 eligibility documents via separate stages with the intent to review them remotely, you will need to follow USCIS guidelines to ensure that your applicants do not have to redo the I-9 process.

Additionally, the USCIS is publishing a new I-9 form on Aug 1, that all employers must start using by November 1st of 2023. Fountain is committed to updating our I-9 Form before the November 1st deadline.

E-Verify is a government system that allows employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the US. If you integrate E-Verify in your Fountain account, the I-9 form completed by you and the applicant will automatically be sent to government systems to be screened. Federal contractors and certain states are required to use E-Verify, and companies can voluntarily use it. Fountain's I-9 stage is required in order to use E-Verify. You may use the I-9 Form stage independently without E-Verify; however, if you want to use E-Verify, you must use the I-9 Form stage.

Important Note

If you are using E-Verify, when completing the employer portion of the I-9 (Section 2), you have the option of using the alternative method of confirming the employee's provided documents over video instead of in-person. If you confirm the documents over video, you must check the box indicating you used the alternative procedure authorized by DHS when completing your portion of the I-9. The alternative procedure is only available for customers using E-Verify.

Learn more about I-9s by reviewing the I-9 Form Stage and Authorized Representative I-9 Form articles.

Enable E-Verify:

Download, complete and send E-Verify Signup Questionnaire to support@fountain.com. We will then onboard your business into the E-Verify system and add E-Verify to your Fountain integrations.
Sign the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) email from E-Verify authorizing Fountain to send I-9 Forms to E-Verify on your behalf.

E-Verify Signup Questionnaire Questions

In the event you are unable to access the E-Verify Signup Questionnaire document, you can also email the answers to the following questions directly to support@fountain.com. They will then onboard your business into the E-Verify system and add E-Verify to your Fountain integrations.

Legal business name.
DBA business name.
Are you a state, local or federal government contractor or agency?
Number of employees (including part-time and seasonal).
3-digit NAICS code (look up).
DUNS number (optional).
Federal Employer Identification Code (FEIN).
Full name, Email address, and Phone Number for who should sign the E-Verify agreement (MOU).
Physical address of the main office or corporate headquarters (no PO boxes).
Is your main office your primary hiring site? If not, provide the address of your primary hiring site.
Is your mailing address different from your main office?
Please list the address of all hiring sites where you will be using E-verify.

Set Up an E-Verify Integration

Users can add the E-Verify integration via the Fountain Integrations webpage. Click on the initials icon in the top right-hand corner, then click Integrations → Screening.

Go to your E-Verify API settings to obtain your Company ID.

You MUST have the E-Verify Company ID in order to integrate. Copy and paste your Company ID and click the Save Changes button to turn on the integration.

Understanding E-Verify Results

There are a number of E-Verify case Status Labels related to applicants.

Authorized - identifies applicants who have been verified as authorized to work.
Closed - used for cases closed for reasons other than Authorization.
Final Non-Confirmation - used for cases where E-Verify has confirmed the applicant is not authorized to work. These cases still need to be closed.
Confirm Details - the employer needs to confirm certain values the applicant submitted in their I-9 Form.
Photo Match Requested - E-Verify has asked the employer to confirm the applicant’s provided documents match the provided photo.
Upload Documents - E-Verify has asked the employer to upload a new picture of the applicant's documents.
Tentative Non-Confirmation - E-Verify’s records contradict the information submitted. The employer must inform the applicant about this response, and the applicant can choose to either respond and try to correct the information, or the applicant can choose not to respond (and thus will not be authorized to work). They can also try submitting a new copy of the case.
Referred - after receiving a Tentative Non-Confirmation, the applicant has chosen to respond and correct the information.
Manual Review: E-Verify is reviewing the submission. There is no action required until they finish the review and return the results.
Queued: the case is in the queue to be reviewed by E-Verify. This status is rare and only used if the E-Verify system is too busy for the case to go to Manual Review.
Close Case and Resubmit: something went wrong. The employer must close the case and start over. This status is also rare.

E-Verify

Important Note

What's Covered

Enable E-Verify:

E-Verify Signup Questionnaire Questions

Set Up an E-Verify Integration

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