The Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 is a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services form. It is used by an employer to verify an employee's identity and to establish
that the worker is eligible to accept employment in the United States.
Requirements The Immigration Reform and Control Act of
1986 required employers to verify that all newly hired employees present "facially valid"
documentation verifying the employee's identity and legal authorization to accept employment
in the United States. The I-9 form or more properly the Employment Eligibility Verification
Form is provided by the federal government for that purpose. Every employee hired after
November 6, 1986 must complete an I-9 form at the time of hire. Employees must complete
Section 1 of the form at the actual beginning of employment. The employer must complete
Section 2 within three days of starting work. The employer is responsible for ensuring that
the forms are completed properly, and in a timely manner. The I-9 is not required for
unpaid volunteers or for contractors. However, a company could still find itself liable if
it contracts work to a company knowing that the contractor employs unauthorized workers.
On March 8, 2013, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS published a new
I-9 Form. Use of earlier versions of the I-9 form are only acceptable until May 7, 2013.
After May 7, 2013, all employers must use the revised I-9 Form. The revised I-9 form
requires input from both the employee and employer. Although the new form is largely
the same, several lay-out changes were made in order to make the form easier to read and
more user-friendly. If an employee cannot read or cannot write
English, a translator or preparer may complete the form and sign it, in addition to the employee's
own signature. In October 2004, new legislation made it possible
to complete the I-9 electronically. Documentation
A variety of ID are acceptable for I-9 purposes. The employee must supply either:
One document that establishes both identity and employment eligibility OR
One document that establishes identity, together with another document that establishes employment
eligibility All documentation must be unexpired as of
April 3, 2009 Documents that may be used under "List A"
of the I-9 form to establish both identity and employment eligibility include:
Unexpired U.S. Passport U.S. Passport Card
An unexpired foreign passport with an I-551 stamp, or with Form I-94 attached which indicates
an unexpired employment authorization A Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration
Receipt Card with photograph An Unexpired Temporary Resident Card
An Unexpired Employment Authorization Card An Unexpired Employment Authorization Document
issued by the Dept. of Homeland Security that includes a photograph
Documents that may be used under "List B" of the I-9 to establish identity include:
Driver's license or I.D. card issued by a U.S. state or outlying possession of the U.S.,
provided it contains a photograph or identifying information such as name, date of birth, gender,
height, eye color and address. Federal or state I.D. card provided it contains
a photograph or identifying information such as name, date of birth, gender, height, eye
color and address. School I.D. with photograph
U.S. Armed Services identification card or draft record
Voter Registration Card U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card
Native American tribal document Driver's license issued by a Canadian government
authority For individuals under the age of 18 only,
the following documents may be used to establish identity:
School record or report card Clinic, doctor or hospital record
Day-care or nursery school record Employees who supply an item from List B must
also supply an item from List C Documents that may be used under "List C"
of the I-9 to establish employment eligibility include:
A U.S. Social Security card issued by the Social Security Administration
A birth certificate issued by the U.S. State Department Original or certified copy of a
birth certificate from the U.S. or an outlying possession of the U.S., bearing an official
seal A Certificate of U.S. Citizenship
A Certificate of Naturalization Native American tribal document
U.S. Citizen I.D. Card An I.D. Card for the use of a Resident Citizen
in the United States An unexpired employment authorization card
issued by the Dept. of Homeland Security U.S. citizens who have lost their social security
card can apply for a duplicate at the Social Security Administration.
Reverification Employers must update or reverify certain
ID documents at or prior to their expiration date. This does not apply to already presented
and accepted non-expired US Passports or Permanent Resident Cards when they reach their expiration
date, nor to any List B documents, e.g. state driver's licenses and state ID's. The USCIS
website, in the Employer section, Employer Bulletins, lists the limited requirements
and allowed instances for reverification. U.S. citizens: I-9's are valid continuously
unless a break of more than a year of employment occurs. International employees on F-1, H-1B,
or J-1 visas must have their I-9 reverified each time their visa has expired with a new
work authorization permit. Retention
Employers must retain a Form I-9 for all current employees. Employers must also retain a Form
I-9 for three years after the date of hire, or one year after the date employment ends,
whichever is later. Anti-discrimination provisions
The Immigration Reform and Control Act which introduced the I-9 form also included anti-discrimination
provisions. Under the Act, most US citizens, permanent residents, temporary residents or
asylee/refugee who are legally allowed to work in the US cannot be discriminated against
on the basis of national origin or citizenship status. This provision applies to employers
of three or more workers and covers both hiring and termination decisions. In addition, an
employer must accept any valid document or combination of documents specified in the
I-9 form, as long as the documents appear genuine.
For example, an employer could not refuse to hire a candidate because his I-9 revealed
that he was a non-citizen rather than a U.S. citizen. For this reason some immigration
lawyers advise companies to avoid requiring an I-9 until a candidate is hired rather than
risk a lawsuit. As another example, a company could not insist that an employee provide
a passport rather than, say, a driver's license and social security card.
Another anti-discrimination provision requires that employers must enforce I-9 compliance
in a uniform manner. For example, an employer must not require some employees to complete
an I-9 before being hired, but allow others to complete the form after starting employment.
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices is a section within
the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division that enforces the anti-discrimination provision
of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The OSC can help workers by calling employers
and explaining proper verification practices and, when necessary, by providing victims
of discrimination with charge forms. Upon receipt of a charge of discrimination, OSC
investigations typically take no longer than 7 months. Victims may obtain various types
of relief, including job relief and back pay. OSC also has an extensive outreach program.
It provides staff to speak at outreach events throughout the country, and has free informational
brochures, posters and tapes for distribution. Types of Discrimination
The OSC investigates the following types of discriminatory conduct under the anti-discrimination
provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1324b:
Citizenship or immigration status discrimination with respect to hiring, firing, and recruitment
or referral for a fee by employers with four or more employees. Employers may not treat
individuals differently because they are, or are not, U.S. citizens or work authorized
individuals. U.S. citizens, recent permanent residents, temporary residents, asylees and
refugees are protected from citizenship status discrimination. Exceptions: permanent residents
who do not apply for naturalization within six months of eligibility are not protected
from citizenship status discrimination. Citizenship status discrimination which is otherwise required
to comply with law, regulation, executive order, or government contract is permissible
by law.National origin discrimination with respect to hiring, firing, and recruitment
or referral for a fee, by employers with more than three and fewer than 15 employees. Employers
may not treat individuals differently because of their place of birth, country of origin,
ancestry, native language, accent, or because they are perceived as looking or sounding
"foreign." All U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and work authorized individuals
are protected from national origin discrimination. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
has jurisdiction over employers with 15 or more employees.Unfair documentary practices
related to verifying the employment eligibility of employees. Employers may not request more
or different documents than are required to verify employment eligibility, reject reasonably
genuine-looking documents, or specify certain documents over others with the purpose or
intent of discriminating on the basis of citizenship status or national origin. U.S. citizens and
all work authorized individuals are protected from document abuse.Retaliation. Individuals
who file charges with OSC, who cooperate with an OSC investigation, who contest action that
may constitute unfair documentary practices or discrimination based upon citizenship or
immigration status, or national origin, or who assert their rights under the INA's anti-discrimination
provision are protected from retaliation. Penalties
The IRCA includes penalties for I-9 noncompliance. According to the I-9 form, "federal law provides
for imprisonment and/or fines for false statements or use of false documents in connection with
the completion of this form." An employer who hires an unauthorized worker can be fined
between $250 and $5,500 per worker. In addition, such an employer can be barred from federal
government contracts for a year. An employee who knowingly accepts fraudulent documentation
can also be criminally prosecuted under other immigration laws.
An employer who fails to keep proper records that I-9s are properly filed can be fined
$110 per missing item for each form, up to $1100 per form, even if the employee is legally
authorized to work in the US. Since 2009, Immigration & Customs Enforcement has conducted
over 7,500 audits and imposed over $80 million in fines. In 2011 alone, ICE conducted 2,740
audits and assessed over $7 million in fines. An individual who knowingly commits or participates
in document fraud may be fined between $375 and $3,200 per document for the first offense,
and between $3,200 and $6,500 per document for subsequent offenses.
References ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "ABCs
of Immigration: I-9 Compliance - Avoiding Immigration Bombshells". Siskind Susser Bland.
Retrieved 2007-06-03. ^ Parser, Jennifer G.; Poyner Spruill LLP.
"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Publishes New I-9 Form". The National Law
Review. ^ Schaeffer, Jr., Gene; Godfrey & Kahn S.C.
"United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Issues Revised Form I-9 and Instructions".
The National Law Review. Retrieved 413. ^ Hopkins, W. Chapman; McBrayer, McGinnis,
Leslie and Kirkland, PLLC. "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-9 Finally
Makes Its Appearance". Retrieved April 13, 2013.
^ "Questions and Answers Revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification Effective".
^ a b "USCIS - List C Documents". ^ Parser, Jennifer G.; David L. Woodard; Poyner
Spruill LLP. "The Importance of an I-9 Form". The National Law Review.
^ "Form M-274: Handbook for Employers: Instructions for Completing Form I-9". United States Citizenship
and Immigration Services. April 3, 2009. External links
I-9 FAQ's "I-9"
Recent Employee Bulletins by the USCIS explain many questions and concerns that employees
have had over the years about the I-9 process, such as the limitation of an employer's ability
to discern from the many old ID's, the many various forms of ID, discovery of possibly
questionable ID, etc.: "About Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification"
"Employer Information Bulletins" "Revised Form I-9, as of April 3, 2009"