In April 2005 when Public Law 108-390 went into effect allowing for employers to sign and retain I-9 employment eligibility verification forms electronically, employers and immigration practitioners alike may have been justifiably confused as provisional guidance from the Department of Homeland Security’s ICE (Immigration Customs and Enforcement) division on their web page http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/factsheets/i-9employment.htm was introduced.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) No-Match Rule illustrates the problem employers can face when intensive government scrutiny is combined with a lack of government guidance. This problem was further exacerbated by the Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (CIS) announcement in November of 1,000 I-9 Audits.

This issue arose in 2007, when DHS issued guidelines for employers