New hires who have been in the U.S. for more than a year since the date of their last visa appointment must go through the standard background check required of all employees. For individuals who have been granted a U.S. visa within a year from their date of hire, we do not run a background check. This is because the visa application process foreign nationals go through at a U.S. embassy, or consulate abroad is more stringent than the background check we run through our background check vendor.
Foreign nationals seeking visas to the United States have been required to undergo rigorous screening by Department of State (DOS) consular officers abroad in coordination and consultation with DHS and other law enforcement agencies. Consular officers use the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD), a biometric and biographic database, to screen all visa applicants. The CCD stores photographs and 10-finger scans for all visa applicants and includes information about prior visa applications. The CCD also links with other databases, such as DHS’s Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and Traveler Enforcement Compliance System (TECS), and the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). Some consular officers have access to DHS’s Arrival Departure Information System (ADIS), which allows them to identify prior overstays.
Consular officers are required to check all visa applicants against the Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS), which includes significant data from law enforcement agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Agency, to assess whether an individual might pose a threat to the United States. DOS has also partnered with the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) to utilize the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE) on known and suspected terrorists and uses facial recognition technology to screen visa applicants against a terrorist watchlist from the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC). Where national security or other concerns arise, consular officers are required to request a Security Advisory Opinion (SAO) from intelligence and law enforcement agencies, such as the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and the FBI.
New hires who have been in the U.S. for over a year must undergo a background check performed by our vendor. This background check requires that the new hire provide a Social Security Number.
To determine if a background check is required, please check the date that the most recent visa in the new hire’s passport was issued along with the I-94 record, which will indicate their most recent date of entry into the U.S.
Please check with [email protected] if you have questions about the background check process.