How to Verify Employee Eligibility
Determine when you must complete Form I-9., Obtain a copy of Form I-9., Ask the employee to complete Section 1., Examine the employee's original documents., Complete Section 2., Fill out Section 3 when necessary., Retain Form I-9 in a safe place...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Determine when you must complete Form I-9.
Form I-9 must be completed every time you hire a new employee.
You are considered to "hire" an employee as soon as you start paying them for their services.
An "employee" is someone who performs services or labor within the United States.
Form I-9 should not be filled out until you have offered the employee a job and he or she accepts your offer.
You do not have to fill out Form I-9 if you are employing someone for casual work in a private home (e.g., mowing lawns, housekeeping), employing an independent contractor, or are employing someone who does not physically work on US soil.
You must complete Form I-9 completely within three business days of the hire. -
Step 2: Obtain a copy of Form I-9.
You must complete a separate Form I-9 for each new employee you hire.
You can obtain a copy online at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
To find a copy, simply Google "Form I-9 USCIS" and a link should appear.
The form is nine pages, although only pages seven and eight need to be filled out.
The other pages offer instructions for filling out the form.Once you download and print one form, you can simply copy that form as many times as necessary., Once you obtain a copy of Form I-9 and hire a new employee, that employee will need to complete Section 1 of the form during their first day of employment.
Sit down with the employee and make sure Section 1 is filled out completely.
You are responsible for verifying the completeness and accuracy of the information provided.
Section 1 requires the employee to provide the following information:
Their full legal name, including any names they have used in the past.
Their address.
If they do not have an address, the employee must provide a description of where they live.
Their date of birth.
In addition, if you use the E-Verify system, the employee will also need to provide their Social Security number.
The employee also has the option of providing an email address and phone number.
An attestation to their citizenship status and ability to work in the US.
If the employee attests to being an 'alien authorized to work'
they will have to provide either an Alien Registration number or their Form I-94 Admission Number.
Their signature and a date. , Before you can fill out Section 2 and 3 of Form I-9, you must obtain original copies of certain documents to help you verify the identity of your employee.
When your employee presents the necessary original documents to you, examine them carefully to ensure they are genuine.
The person who examines the documents must be the same person who signs Section 2 of Form I-9.
In addition, the employee must physically present you with the documents.
They cannot have someone else do it for them and they cannot leave them for you to look at later.A list of acceptable documents is found on Page nine of Form I-9.
Acceptable documents include passports, drivers licenses, voter registration cards, military IDs, a Social Security card, and birth certificates.
Certain documents fall within certain lists.
When you are filling out Section 2 you will need to have certain documents from certain lists in order to fulfill Form I-9 requirements (i.e., you will need one document from either List A or B and one document from List C)., Once you have been presented with acceptable forms of documents, you will fill out Section
2.
First, enter the employee's name as it was written in Section
1.
Second, enter the document information in the provided area.
Make sure you obtain the required number of original documents from the required lists.
Third, enter the date the employee started working for you.
Fourth, the employer who examined the documents must attest to physically examining them by signing and dating Section
2.At this point, your duties are fulfilled so long as the employee does not change their name, change their identity information, or get rehired.
Absent these circumstances, you can skip Section 3 and simply file the completed Form I-9 away. , If you rehire an employee or their information needs to be re-verified (i.e., the employee changes their name or identification information), you will need to fill out Section 3 of Form I-9.
If any of these circumstances exist, you need to find the previously completed Form I-9 and:
Enter the employee's new name Enter the employee's date of rehire Enter the new document information Sign and date the completed Section
3. , You must retain completed I-9 forms for as long as the employee works for you.
Once the employee is terminated, you must retain their Form I-9 for either three years after the date of hire or one year after termination, whichever is later.
Copies can be retained on paper or electronically.
If you are storing your I-9s on paper, you can store them on or off-site so long as you can present the forms within three days of them being requested.
If you are storing your I-9s electronically, they must be stored in such a way that protects the private information and retains the authenticity of the information.
When you store your forms electronically you are required to maintain and make available documentation of your storage processes., The US government, specifically the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of Special Counsel, and the Department of Labor, can ask for proof of your completed I-9s so long as they give you three days notice.
If you get a lawful request, make sure you provide all of the requested documentation in a timely manner.
If you fail to do so, you may be fined. -
Step 3: Ask the employee to complete Section 1.
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Step 4: Examine the employee's original documents.
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Step 5: Complete Section 2.
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Step 6: Fill out Section 3 when necessary.
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Step 7: Retain Form I-9 in a safe place.
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Step 8: Make the forms available upon request.
Detailed Guide
Form I-9 must be completed every time you hire a new employee.
You are considered to "hire" an employee as soon as you start paying them for their services.
An "employee" is someone who performs services or labor within the United States.
Form I-9 should not be filled out until you have offered the employee a job and he or she accepts your offer.
You do not have to fill out Form I-9 if you are employing someone for casual work in a private home (e.g., mowing lawns, housekeeping), employing an independent contractor, or are employing someone who does not physically work on US soil.
You must complete Form I-9 completely within three business days of the hire.
You must complete a separate Form I-9 for each new employee you hire.
You can obtain a copy online at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
To find a copy, simply Google "Form I-9 USCIS" and a link should appear.
The form is nine pages, although only pages seven and eight need to be filled out.
The other pages offer instructions for filling out the form.Once you download and print one form, you can simply copy that form as many times as necessary., Once you obtain a copy of Form I-9 and hire a new employee, that employee will need to complete Section 1 of the form during their first day of employment.
Sit down with the employee and make sure Section 1 is filled out completely.
You are responsible for verifying the completeness and accuracy of the information provided.
Section 1 requires the employee to provide the following information:
Their full legal name, including any names they have used in the past.
Their address.
If they do not have an address, the employee must provide a description of where they live.
Their date of birth.
In addition, if you use the E-Verify system, the employee will also need to provide their Social Security number.
The employee also has the option of providing an email address and phone number.
An attestation to their citizenship status and ability to work in the US.
If the employee attests to being an 'alien authorized to work'
they will have to provide either an Alien Registration number or their Form I-94 Admission Number.
Their signature and a date. , Before you can fill out Section 2 and 3 of Form I-9, you must obtain original copies of certain documents to help you verify the identity of your employee.
When your employee presents the necessary original documents to you, examine them carefully to ensure they are genuine.
The person who examines the documents must be the same person who signs Section 2 of Form I-9.
In addition, the employee must physically present you with the documents.
They cannot have someone else do it for them and they cannot leave them for you to look at later.A list of acceptable documents is found on Page nine of Form I-9.
Acceptable documents include passports, drivers licenses, voter registration cards, military IDs, a Social Security card, and birth certificates.
Certain documents fall within certain lists.
When you are filling out Section 2 you will need to have certain documents from certain lists in order to fulfill Form I-9 requirements (i.e., you will need one document from either List A or B and one document from List C)., Once you have been presented with acceptable forms of documents, you will fill out Section
2.
First, enter the employee's name as it was written in Section
1.
Second, enter the document information in the provided area.
Make sure you obtain the required number of original documents from the required lists.
Third, enter the date the employee started working for you.
Fourth, the employer who examined the documents must attest to physically examining them by signing and dating Section
2.At this point, your duties are fulfilled so long as the employee does not change their name, change their identity information, or get rehired.
Absent these circumstances, you can skip Section 3 and simply file the completed Form I-9 away. , If you rehire an employee or their information needs to be re-verified (i.e., the employee changes their name or identification information), you will need to fill out Section 3 of Form I-9.
If any of these circumstances exist, you need to find the previously completed Form I-9 and:
Enter the employee's new name Enter the employee's date of rehire Enter the new document information Sign and date the completed Section
3. , You must retain completed I-9 forms for as long as the employee works for you.
Once the employee is terminated, you must retain their Form I-9 for either three years after the date of hire or one year after termination, whichever is later.
Copies can be retained on paper or electronically.
If you are storing your I-9s on paper, you can store them on or off-site so long as you can present the forms within three days of them being requested.
If you are storing your I-9s electronically, they must be stored in such a way that protects the private information and retains the authenticity of the information.
When you store your forms electronically you are required to maintain and make available documentation of your storage processes., The US government, specifically the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of Special Counsel, and the Department of Labor, can ask for proof of your completed I-9s so long as they give you three days notice.
If you get a lawful request, make sure you provide all of the requested documentation in a timely manner.
If you fail to do so, you may be fined.
About the Author
Tyler Foster
A passionate writer with expertise in creative arts topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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