[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 230 (Thursday, November 30, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61630-61631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-29128]
[[Page 61629]]
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Part III
Department of Justice
_______________________________________________________________________
Immigration and Naturalization Service
_______________________________________________________________________
8 CFR Part 274a
Demonstration Project Concerning Electronic Options for Processing of
Forms I-9; Proposed Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 230 / Thursday, November 30, 1995 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 61630]]
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
8 CFR Part 274a
[INS No. 1713-95]
RIN 1115-AB73
Demonstration Project Concerning Electronic Options for
Processing of Forms I-9
AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.
ACTION: Notice inviting submission of applications.
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SUMMARY: The Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(Service) invites applications from businesses, consortium of
businesses, other employing entities interested in participating in a
demonstration project dealing with the electronic production and/or
storage of a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification Form. This
notice and proposed demonstration project are the result of numerous
inquiries made by members of the business community expressing a desire
to electronically produce and/or store the Form I-9. If the project is
found to be successful, changes to existing regulations governing the
methods of production, completions, storage, and output of the Form I-9
will be promulgated.
DATES: Written applications, responding to all of the Application
Requirements and Criteria cited in this notice, must be submitted on or
before January 29, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Please submit an original application and five copies to the
Immigration and Naturalization Service, 425 I Street, NW., Room 1000,
Washington, DC 20536 Attention: Form I-9 Demonstration Project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Atwater, Immigration and Naturalization Service, 425 I Street,
NW., Room 1000, Washington, DC 20536, telephone (202) 514-2998.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Statutory Authority
Pursuant to the authority contained in Section 274A(d)(4) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act, the Service plans to conduct a
demonstration project to test different methods of electronic
preparation, completion, storage, and output of the Employment
Eligibility Verification Form (Form I-9).
Purpose
The purpose of this demonstration project is to investigate and
test various technologies which would provide both the private sector
and the Government with electronic alternatives to paper Forms I-9
which will address compliance and enforcement needs under the
Immigration and Nationality Act.
Goals
To assess existing technologies for electronic
preparation, completion, storage, and/or output of Forms I-9.
To develop prototype processes.
To identify specific technological standards for
electronic Form I-9 processes.
To draft legislative and/or regulatory proposals which
would allow for implementation of an electronic Form I-9 process on a
national scale.
Application Requirements and Criteria
No specific application form has been designed for this
demonstration project; however, applicants must follow the format
prescribed in Section III below.
Applicants may wish to refer to the Federal ``Guidelines for
Security of Computer Applications,'' FIPS Publication 73.
I. Eligibility for Participation
Any business, consortium of businesses, or other employing
entities, may submit an application for participation in the
demonstration project provided they, or a client business for which
they provide Form I-9 services, meet the following criteria: they have
been in operation at least 1 year; have at least 100 employees, either
at one or multiple locations; have their headquarters in the United
States; have or are able to have available the resources to begin their
demonstration project within 3 months of approval; and agree to
participate in the an evaluation of the project (through reporting
mechanisms as well as on-site reviews).
II. Project Restrictions
The Service will not, at this time, entertain approaches which
include the use of an electronic identifier, e.g. PIN number, without
an associated written signature. Companies proposing to electronically
generate or store Forms I-9 and/or related signatures should include
samples of computer-generated signatures and associated originals for
evaluation by the Service's Forensic Document Lab.
Scanned signatures must be of photographic quality. Handwritten
signatures made with black ballpoint pen on white paper forms, scanned
at a minimum resolution of 600 horizontal x 1200 vertical dots per
inch (DPI) optical resolution (color) with output resolution of
1200 x 1200 DPI and produced by a printer at a minimum of 512 lines per
inch (LPI) on photographic (dry silver) paper, or 600 DPI on a laser
jet printer, may produce a signature acceptable for INS forensic
examination as long as magnetic disk (3.5'') containing 600 x 1200 DPI
color optical resolution with output resolution of 1200 x 1200 DPI
scanned image is available. Compression of the scanned image on the
disk will not be acceptable; image must be in a Tagged-image file
format (TIF).
Participants will be required to retain hard copies of the Forms I-
9 for a specified term.
III. Information To Be Included in the Application
A. A company profile should be provided to include: The company
name; headquarters address; listing of additional company locations, if
any; number of employees (total and/or number by location); average
number of new hires per year; if the data is available, the average
number of reverifications per year; and the name and phone number of
the company contact for this project.
B. A brief summary of the approach described in the application.
Such a summary may be published in the Federal Register notice
announcing the implementation of the demonstration project.
C. The company's plan describing, in as much detail as possible,
the method to be employed to electronically prepare, complete, store,
and/or output Forms I-9. (Your need only address the areas which your
company would be interested in pursuing).
1. Describe the process from completion of the Form I-9 by the
employee and employer to storage.
2. Indicate measures to be taken to ensure the integrity of the
employment verification process as outlined in Title 8 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, Part 274a. Include issues such as the provision of
the Form I-9 instructions and the listing of acceptable documents to
all employees during the verification process.
3. Discuss the scope of the project within your company and clearly
indicate whether or not all new hires and reverifications will be
included in this process.
4a. Discuss the type of equipment and software which will be used
and describe the information flow of the system (i.e., how the new
process would work compared to the present manual/paper-based process).
b. Discuss the number of staff resources which will be used to
support
[[Page 61631]]
the initiatives being proposed. If it will be necessary for your
company to acquire additional or specialized equipment and/or staff for
the purposes of this initiative, provide the costs and timeframe
associated with this effort.
c. Include a process map and/or flow chart of system operation;
description of data elements; description and specification of the
software to be used; and specifications for all equipment devices
(input scanner, storage device, etc.).
5. Describe the specific Form I-9 data which will be capture
electronically; where and how it will be stored; procedures for
ensuring the integrity of the database; where and how data will be
output; what the methods and timeframes will be for electronic record
retention and disposal; and what, if any, hardcopy versions of the Form
I-9 will be used in the process. If electronic signatures are a
component of the proposal, describe how the electronic signature will
be linked to a physical signature by the same individual (refer to
Section II. Project Restrictions, above).
6. Explain plans for internal assessment of the project's
performance throughout the demonstration period.
D. If any provisions of the current regulations will need to be
waived for purposes of the demonstration, describe these and also
explain how your proposed process would achieve the same purpose as the
existing regulations.
E. Describe the electronic access which will be available if your
company is proposing to digitally store data.
F. Identify accompanying recordkeeping procedures which would allow
the Government to verify the signature and date of the form's
preparation, revision, and/or updating.
G. Provide a brief analysis of the cost and benefits associated
with the electronic Form I-9 process being proposed.
IV. Criteria to be Used to Evaluate Applications
A. Eligibility under the requirements set forth in Item I of this
notice (10 percent);
B. Comprehensiveness and quality of the application, particularly
with respect to the integrity of the verification process and the
security of the proposed system (22 percent);
C. Likelihood of the system to gain widespread adoption and
acceptance, as reflected in the technology, start-up costs, and cost-
benefit analysis (20 percent);
D. Likelihood of the system to facilitate compliance with the
verification process and to permit the Government to independently
review the employer's compliance with the law, as reflected in the
proposed audit trail and methods of providing Government access (22
percent);
E. The company's ability, as described in the application, to:
ensure that all activities described in its plan are performed in
accordance with the applicant's proposal, be able to implement its
proposal within 3 months of approval, and commit to at least 24 months
participation in the project (10 percent);
F. The number of new hires/verification transactions per year (3
percent);
G. Achievement of a mix of technologies and procedures (10
percent); and
H. In the event the Service receives a number of equally qualified
applications, preference may be given based upon the date the
application was received (3 percent).
An applicant's failure to adequately address evaluation criteria A-
F may result in denial of the application.
The final review panel will be composed of no fewer than five
members with experience in information systems, forensic document
examinations, investigations, and legal compliance. They will
recommend, to the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service (Commissioner), no more than 20 applicants for participation in
the demonstration project. The final decision will be made by the
Commissioner. Applications which are not approved for this
demonstration project will be retained for possible future
consideration.
The Service will endeavor to complete the evaluation process and
make final participant selections within 3 months following the close
of the application period. Participants will be required to enter into
a Memorandum of Understanding with the Service. All participants in the
demonstration project will be advised that their involvement in the
project will not preclude the Government from conducting compliance
audits and any other enforcement actions.
OMB Reporting Burden
The public reporting burden for this collection of information is
estimated to be 23 hours, including time for reviewing instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data
needed, and completing and reviewing the collections of information.
Please send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect
of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing
this burden, to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 425 I
Street, NW, HQPDI, Room 5307, Washington, DC 20536. These requirements
have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, and are recorded as OMB
Control Number 1115-0198, with an expiration date of 9-30-98.
Dated: November 22, 1995.
Doris Meissner,
Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service.
[FR Doc. 95-29128 Filed 11-29-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-10-M
