If your business is one of the 570,000 issued a No-Match Letter from the Social Security Administration so far this year, you may have experienced a moment of panic. For many family-owned businesses, employee paperwork can be daunting, especially if you do not have a robust HR department or third-party administrator to assist.

The No-Match Letter may seem alarming, especially with a 60-day response deadline, but your first step should be to call your outside counsel, particularly one with immigration experience, before responding. The No-Match Letter is meant to correct errors that can result from name changes, typos, and other mistakes.

Employers should be careful to treat all employees equally, regardless of citizenship status or national origin, and not ask employees to produce documents to address the No-Match Letter. An immigration attorney can guide you through the process to respond to the No-Match Letter.