Employers may not knowingly hire employees who aren't legally authorized to work in the United States, and may not continue to employee a worker whom the employer discovers is an unauthorized alien. To verify a new employee's work authorization, the employer must examine the employee's documents and complete the federal Form I-9.
Time Limits for Completing Form I-9
Within three business days of hiring an employee, the employer must verify that the employee is a U.S. citizen or an authorized alien by completing USCIS Form I-9, Employee Eligibility Verification. If the employer is hiring the employee for fewer than three days total, the employer must complete the form and examine the employee's documents before the end of the employee's first work day.
If an employee's authorization to work in the U.S. is temporary, the employer must reverify the employee's eligibility on or before the date when the original work authorization expires.
How to Complete Form I-9
The I-9 form has three parts:
- Section 1 is to be completed by the employee on his or her first day of work. This part asks for basic identifying information (including the employee's Social Security number) and requires the employee to verify that he or she is authorized to work in the U.S.
- Section 2 is to be completed by the employer after reviewing the employee's documents. Employees must present documentation of their identity and work authorization. Some documents (such as a U.S. passport or permanent resident card) prove both identify and authorization; if an employee has one of these documents, that's sufficient for this section. Some documents (like a state driver's license or voter registration card) prove only identity; an employee who provides one of these documents must also provide proof of work authorization, such as a Social Security card or work visa. (The form lists the documents that are acceptable to prove identify, authorization, or both.) The employer must review these documents, then complete Section 2, attesting that the documents were examined and appeared to be genuine.
- Section 3 must be completed by the employer only if the employee changes his or her name; the employee is rehired within three years of the date the original form was completed and is still eligible for employment on the same basis; or the employee's original work authorization has expired or is about to do so.
Maintaining I-9 Forms
Employers must keep employee I-9 forms for three years or for one year after the employee is terminated, whichever is later. Employers are not required to file these forms with the government, but must make them available for inspection if asked.
Rather than keeping I-9 forms in an employee's personnel file, employers should keep all I-9 forms together in a separate file just for that purpose. This will keep them readily available in case of audit. It will also prevent government employees from searching the other contents of employee personnel files. And, it will ensure that an employee's citizenship or immigration status is available only to those with a need to know.
