What employers need to know about the E-Verify outage during the government shutdown

As of October 1, 2025, the federal government has officially shut down—and E-Verify is one of the systems affected. While this isn’t the first time E-Verify has gone offline, it’s a good reminder that between scheduled maintenance, occasional outages, and events like shutdowns, staying compliant requires a bit of flexibility and planning.

Here’s what you need to know about how this shutdown impacts your onboarding and compliance obligations. 

What happens when E-Verify is down?

When the E-Verify system is unavailable (like it is now), employers temporarily lose access to key functionality, including:

• Submitting new cases
• Viewing or managing existing cases
• Resolving Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs)
• Running E-Verify reports

In short, you won’t be able to use E-Verify at all until the system is restored.

What rules are suspended during the outage?

During government shutdowns, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) typically pauses certain time-sensitive E-Verify requirements. Here's what that means:

• The 3-business-day deadline for submitting new E-Verify cases is expected to be suspended for the duration of the outage.
• Employees who are working to resolve TNCs will likely receive an extension—the days of the shutdown won’t count against their timeline.
• Form I-9s must still be completed on time for all new hires. E-Verify may be down, but I-9 compliance is still required.
• Employers using the alternative procedure may continue doing so during the shutdown—as long as they remain enrolled in good standing with E-Verify. This means the alternative procedure remains valid, even if E-Verify services are temporarily unavailable.

What to do when E-Verify is back online

Once DHS restores the system, employers are expected to:

• Submit any backlogged E-Verify cases that were delayed during the shutdown. 
• Include “Federal Government Shutdown” as the reason for the delay when prompted.
• Resume normal E-Verify processes.

Historically, DHS has offered flexibility for late submissions following outages, but it’s still essential to stay organized and act quickly once the system returns.

How WorkBright helps you stay compliant automatically

When systems like E-Verify go down, there's no need to scramble if you're a WorkBright customer. We've built proactive safeguards into our platform to keep you compliant—without the stress.

Here’s how we’ve got you covered:

• No data loss: All of your E-Verify case information is securely stored in WorkBright. Nothing is lost during the outage.
• Automatic resubmission: As soon as E-Verify is back online, WorkBright will automatically push all pending cases—no manual effort required.
• Secure case queueing: You can continue completing Form I-9s as usual. Any E-Verify cases will be safely held in the queue until submission is possible.
• Built-in document verification: WorkBright’s Document Verification uses advanced analysis to detect fraud and tampering in ID documents, providing an extra layer of protection even when E-Verify is down.

We know disruptions like these can create uncertainty. With WorkBright, you can navigate them confidently—and stay compliant without skipping a beat. 

Not a WorkBright customer but interested in the benefits? Learn more about our I-9 + E-Verify platform here.