Secretary Napolitano highlighted the Department's progress in 2011, emphasizing the major steps the Department has taken this year to enhance America's capabilities to secure the nation's borders and engage in smart enforcement of our immigration laws.
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processed more than 17 million E-Verify queries in FY 2011. E-Verify continues to grow rapidly with more than 294,000 employers representing more than 960,000 hiring sites enrolled in the program and an average of more than 1,000 new employers enrolling weekly. USCIS also strengthened the efficiency, accuracy and integrity of E-Verify in FY 2011 by:
- Implementing customer focused system enhancements, including improved navigational tools to increase ease-of-use and a streamlined enrollment process to save time.
- Launching the Records and Information from DMVs for E‑Verify (RIDE) Program in Mississippi to further increase the accuracy of E‑Verify and assist in preventing identity theft. RIDE allows E-Verify to confirm the validity and authenticity of Mississippi driver’s licenses.
- Issuing more than 39,000 compliance assistance actions (telephone calls, letters and emails) in response to potential system misuse.
- USCIS processed more than 12 million immigration status verification queries submitted by federal, state and local government agencies through its Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program. More than 1,000 government agencies currently participate in the SAVE Program, including the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, health and human services agencies and 47 Department of Motor Vehicle agencies (DMVs). In FY 2011, USCIS further increased the ability of DMVs to effectively and efficiently verify the lawful status of applicants by developing new capabilities, such as a photo matching tool, verification of U.S. Passport information and web-based access to SAVE for DMVs in U.S. territories.
- USCIS announced the launch of an enhanced Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and a redesigned Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-560) with new security features in order to deter counterfeiting, obstruct tampering, and facilitate quick and accurate authentication.
- DHS and USCIS launched E-Verify Self Check—a voluntary, free, fast and secure online service that allows individuals in the U.S. to check their employment eligibility status before formally seeking employment. E-Verify Self Check is now available in 21 states and the District of Columbia and is available in Spanish.