Update: E-Verify Resumes Operations Following Government Shutdown
By, Nikki Whetstone, Managing Attorney
Following our earlier post on the impact of the U.S. government shutdown on immigration operations, E-Verify has now resumed normal service as of October 9, 2025. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued guidance on how employers should handle E-Verify case creation and related deadlines affected by the closure.
Case Creation Deadline
Employers who hired new employees while E-Verify was unavailable must create E-Verify cases no later than Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
When doing so:
- Use the employee’s original Form I-9 hire date, and
- When prompted for a reason for delay, select “Other” and enter “E-Verify not available.”
The days E-Verify was offline do not count toward the standard three-business-day rule for case creation.
Mismatch and Contractor Cases
For any cases that resulted in a mismatch during the outage, employers should update referral dates in E-Verify to reflect the new timelines. Federal contractors should note that days E-Verify was unavailable will not count toward any compliance deadlines under the E-Verify federal contractor rule.
Action Items for Employers
- Create all pending E-Verify cases by October 14, 2025.
- Document “E-Verify not available” as the reason for delay.
- Review and update any mismatch or contractor-related cases as needed.
Our firm will continue to monitor post-shutdown developments across agencies and provide further updates as new information becomes available.
