Basic Pilot Program

The Basic Pilot Program is a voluntary federal program that involves the verification checks of the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the United States Department of Homeland Security databases. Conducted by Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Bureau (USCIS) with support from SSA, the program is used to verify the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees and has been in use since November 1997. To perform these checks, the system utilizes social security numbers (SSNs), Alien Registration Numbers, and I-94 Numbers. Although voluntary, over 5,000 employers across the United States use the free Basic Pilot Program to verify the eligibility of all new hires.

The program essentially removes the uncertainty that accompanies document review during the I-9 process. However, a 2006 DHS commissioned study concluded that the program's 10.9% error rate (defined as the rate at which legal workers receive an initial non-confirmation through the system) was “unacceptably high.”

To participate, an employer must enroll and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that spells out the responsibilities of the SSA, DHS-USCIS, and the employer.

Legislation signed by the President in December 2003 extended the Basic Pilot Program until November 2008 and grew to encompass all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

As one of the largest corporations to undertake the project, Dunkin' Brands, Inc. has taken a national lead on the Basic Pilot Program by requiring that all of its franchisees register for the program by June 1, 2006. President George W. Bush paid a surprise visit to an Alexandria, Virginia Dunkin' Donuts on July 5, 2006 to speak briefly about the program and its effects on immigration policy. A contract team was hired to monitor the progress of enrollment in the program and to ensure that all franchisees partake in the program.

Read more about Basic Pilot Program:  Sources

Famous quotes containing the words basic, pilot and/or program:

    The “universal moments” of child rearing are in fact nothing less than a confrontation with the most basic problems of living in society: a facing through one’s children of all the conflicts inherent in human relationships, a clarification of issues that were unresolved in one’s own growing up. The experience of child rearing not only can strengthen one as an individual but also presents the opportunity to shape human relationships of the future.
    Elaine Heffner (20th century)

    With two sons born eighteen months apart, I operated mainly on automatic pilot through the ceaseless activity of their early childhood. I remember opening the refrigerator late one night and finding a roll of aluminum foil next to a pair of small red tennies. Certain that I was responsible for the refrigerated shoes, I quickly closed the door and ran upstairs to make sure I had put the babies in their cribs instead of the linen closet.
    Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)

    The westerner, normally, walks to get somewhere that he cannot get in an automobile or on horseback. Hiking for its own sake, for the sheer animal pleasure of good condition and brisk exercise, is not an easy thing for him to comprehend.
    State of Utah, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)