Big Brother is truly watching!  Have you heard of the new E-Verify system? How scary is this?

Today I went to the temporary agency interview to complete the necessary and "humdrum, done this a million times" required paperwork. Of course and as expected, the paperwork included the Federal I-9 form and W2, both required to work in the good ole U.S. of A! 

While completing the computerized application, the company (without even notifying me of such...) ran my SS # into a new government / immigration "pilot" system (according to the letter I recieved after the fact) called "E-Verify".  I'm now very aware of this program only because, being slightly dislexic, I managed to transpose two of the numbers in my social security number and after completing my application was confronted by the receptionist that my "name & social do not match"  ~ Oops.  No such thing as a simple Oops these days though!  

I double check my information and find the transposed number, an honest mistake on my part and point it out to her...  "Oh so Sorry ~ too late" is esssentially her respoonse and she procedes to tell me, in an attitude seeming to insinuate that I had purposely gave the wrong information that I now have to report to the local SSA office to explain the discrepancy within 8 business days. 

Are you f'ing kidding me? And YES, she was completely serious ~ with a letter in hand from Homeland Security to prove it.

It wasn't, but it could have easily been a typo from the person entering the info into the "E-Verify" program, not to mention a million other problems with this system.  Now I'm being punished....  by having to drive to my nearest SSA office, which happens to be 40 miles away, one way!  NOT HAPPENING FOLKS!

I feel like ranting and raving over this ~ it's complete Bullshit. But instead, I'll sit idly back and behave. I won't make noise but also won't comply.  I'm going to gamble on this one... there's no way I'm going to the SSA office to explain such BS.  After asking her what would happen if I didn't show up at the SSA office within 8 days, Miss Receptionist' stumbling response was that I wouldn't be eligible to work in the US. Oh really... We'll see! I think it's more like I won't be able to work for them.... but so what. The scary part being that I don't think anyone had ever even dared to ask her such a question! 

My thinking is this: How they would even track such a thing if it wasn't the right social security # to begin with? And.... if I'm not going to attempt to work under that same number again, because it was a simple error, how can they keep me from working under my correct number?  I may be gambling slightly, but those that know me, know that that's my nature and so isn't rebeling against such a program!  How many more ways can they track us? This is beginning to feel like _____! (fill in the blank) 

If.... they try to stop me from working in the future based on this silly error, then I'll go down to the SSA office at that point ~ and not before!