E-Verify Gets High Marks from Employers in Customer Satisfaction Survey

Jan. 18, 2011   

Recent GAO report also cites improvements to the E-Verify Program

WASHINGTON, DC.—A recent customer satisfaction survey validates what U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has long asserted – that the Obama administration’s commitment to building the E-verify system is the right investment in building a viable tool to ensure a legal workforce in the United States. Additionally, a report about E-Verify – just issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) – cites improvements in the reduction of mismatch rates, ensuring employer compliance, and establishing better safeguards for employees’ personal information.

The customer survey evaluated key aspects of the E-Verify program such as registration, tutorial, ease of use, technical assistance, and customer service. E-Verify received an exceptionally high overall customer satisfaction score – 82 out of 100 the American Customer Satisfaction Index scale – compared to the government’s overall satisfaction score of 69. One of the aspects of E-Verify that respondents liked the most was its customer support, which received a score of 89 – based significantly on enhancements to the system made under the Obama administration. Other key findings of the survey revealed that the overwhelming majority of users were likely to recommend E-Verify to other employers, were confident in E-Verify’s accuracy, and were likely to continue using the program.

“The E-Verify Program works exceptionally well, according to employers, and is a very promising tool for ensuring a legal workforce in the U.S.,” said USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas. “The high overall customer satisfaction score, along with the positive findings of the GAO report, are encouraging. While we are pleased with the program’s successes, we remain committed to continually improving E-Verify and enhancing this tool’s effectiveness for both workers and employers.”

The continued success of E-Verify demonstrated by these reports reflect the Obama administration’s commitment to smart, tough and effective strategies that build a strong foundation upon which immigrants can exercise their rights and responsibilities as Americans. However, passage of comprehensive immigration reform – grounded in principles of responsibility and accountability – is needed to fix our broken immigration system.

CFI Group, a consulting firm specializing in customer satisfaction measurements, developed the survey last July and questioned more than 4,500 random employers who currently use E-Verify. Respondents included new and current users and federal contractors who are required to use the system.

GAO reviewed USCIS’s E-Verify program by analyzing E-Verify query data from 2009 to 2010. GAO reported a significant reduction in the number of tentative nonconfirmations (TNCs), citing a 5.4 percent decrease in TNCs since FY 2007. The report also acknowledged the agency’s improvement in monitoring and ensuring employer compliance with E-Verify’s policies, and offering assistance to E-Verify employers who appear noncompliant. In addition, the report noted how E-Verify has added safeguards to minimize and secure the handling of new employees’ personal information by creating a privacy branch; safeguards that limit both the data collected for E-Verify and the people who can access the data. GAO made a number of recommendations to further improve the program and USCIS has concurred with those recommendations. 

More than 243,000 employers representing more than 834,000 worksites currently use E-Verify. On average, 1,000 new employers enroll each week. In FY 2010, the E-Verify Program ran more than 16 million queries. 

The E-Verify customer survey is available for review. To read GAO’s report, as well as USCIS’s response to the GAO report, please visit http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11146.pdf (PDF). 

General information about USCIS, E-Verify and its programs and services can be found at www.uscis.gov/everify.