Background checks are common in the US for various reasons, including employment and rental applications. Law enforcement agencies may determine citizenship or immigration status during security clearance or criminal investigations. Employers may verify legal employment status using resources provided by the government. Landlords may be required to verify immigration status in some jurisdictions. Credit checks focus on financial history, not immigration status.
Background checks are conducted for a variety of reasons in the United States by many different individuals and organizations. Some will be launched specifically to determine someone’s immigration status, while others will not seek that information. In most cases, however, the subject of a background check will be asked for permission to conduct the check, and the permission request will take note of the requested information. When a background check is conducted by law enforcement agencies, typically in connection with the issuance of a security clearance in connection with a high-level government job, or as a routine investigation prior to a criminal trial, the citizenry and/or or a person’s immigration status are routinely determined.
The most common form of background check currently performed in the United States is related to employment. Employers typically request information from job applicants, along with permission to conduct background checks, in order to verify the information provided on the job application, as well as to learn more about the candidate. Most employers, for example, will carry out a background check to find out about any criminal activity on an applicant’s part.
Immigration rules prohibit employers in the United States from hiring those who are not legally permitted to work. including illegal immigrants or foreign tourists. The government provides resources for employers to verify that an applicant has legal employment status, by reviewing the Social Security Number (SSN) and alien registration number, if any. Many employers routinely use such resources as part of their routine background check process. Therefore, it is likely that a background investigation connected with a potential employment will reveal the subject’s immigration status. Employers cannot apply for an applicant’s SSN until a formal job offer is made and accepted, although in many cases job offers are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a background check.
Landlords are another group that typically perform background checks on applicants for rental accommodation. Some jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring landlords to verify the immigration status of prospective renters. Many landlords oppose this legislation, arguing that other merchants are not required to verify this information.
Background checks are commonly conducted by third parties, often detective agencies. Many simply contact the references, former employers, and educational institutions provided by the individual, in order to verify the accuracy of this information. Most of these organizations will be very cautious about the information they provide, limiting their responses to confirming the data provided, so these sources are unlikely to report negative information about an individual’s immigration status.
Some investigative agencies will also search public records, including motor vehicle records, court records, and similar sources of information. Some of the information derived from such investigations can be used to infer information about an individual’s immigration status. For example, most US states will only issue driver’s licenses to legal residents.
A credit check is a particular type of background check that focuses on an applicant’s financial history, especially with respect to the applicant’s history of using credit within certain guidelines and meeting credit obligations. A credit report obtained from one of the three credit bureaus might contain information that could lead to a judgment about an individual’s immigration status, such as a history of residences in a particular foreign country, but a credit report is designed to evaluate the an individual’s immigration status credit history, not immigration status.
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