Form I-9: Five Dos and Don'ts

All U.S. employers must complete and retain a copy of the federal Form I-9, the Employment Eligibility Verification form for every person they hire for employment. This attestation of employment authorization document has been a requirement for U.S. employment since it was first mandated by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986. The Form I-9 seems simple, however there are rules and practices required to ensure proper completion and management of the data.

Based on the M-274 Form I-9 user guide, a 132-page guidebook published by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, let’s take a look at the top five dos and don’ts of the Form I-9.

DOs:

1. Complete all sections accurately. Your employee must fill out Section 1 (employee information), You (the employer) must complete Section 2 and Supplement B (employer information) completely and accurately, including dates and signatures. USCIS publishes an eight-paged instructions supplement that provides guidance on each field of the form. A copy can be downloaded from USCIS’ website.
   
   
2. Consider keeping photocopies of the employee’s Acceptable Documents. Photocopy the original documents, as presented by the employee, and used by you to complete the Section 2 and Supplement B reverifications. Keeping copies of the documents also comes in handy for I-9 audits and verifying data accuracy. And if you use E-Verify, you may need these copies for comparison and photo matching during that process.
   
   
3. Store forms I-9 separately and securely. Keep I-9 forms and any additional supporting documentation in a separate, secured file (these documents contain confidential employee PII), apart from other personnel files, to ensure easy access for audits.
   
   
4. Perform audits regularly. Review your I-9 forms to ensure proper completion and that they are the most current version, consistent with USCIS issuance controls.
   
   
5. Follow the USCIS required process for correcting errors (Paper I-9 Forms). If a form contains errors, draw a line through the incorrect information, enter the correct information, and have the employee initial and date the correction.

DON’Ts:

1. Ask candidates to complete Section 1 prior to an employment offer made and accepted. Section 1 should only be completed after the candidate has accepted an offer of employment and must be completed by the end of the first day of employment.
   
   
2. Accept photocopies (non-originals) or expired documents. Employees must physically present you with original versions of their acceptable documents for examination, and they must be valid and unexpired. If the employee provides photocopies of their acceptable documents or expired documents, you can inform them that they are not acceptable and provide the employee a copy of the USCIS list of acceptable documents and request that they provide alternate documents from that list.
   
   
3. Ask employees to present specific documents. Federal law allows employees choose which documents they want to present from the USCIS list of acceptable documents, which includes a passport, permanent resident card, driver's license, social security card, and more. Even if you are trying to help an employee by suggesting common documents, it is best to refrain from influencing the employee’s decision.
   
   
4. Backdate or destroy old form versions. You must maintain a clear paper trail of all forms, including forms that have corrections. Do not erase information or use white out to coverup incorrect information.
   
   
5. Reverify any forms I-9 that do not require reverifications. You should not reverify:

• • • U.S. citizens and noncitizen nationals,
    • Lawful permanent residents who presented a Form I-551, Permanent Resident or Alien Registration Receipt card for Section 2, including conditional residents; or
    • List B documents.

Keep these dos and don’ts in mind when you are working with the Form I-9. Speak to a Cisive expert today for an assessment of your Form I-9 process.