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Updated: September 11, 2023
It’s the first day for your brand new employee, and there’s an alphabet soup of forms for them to fill out before they can start work. Form I-9 is one of the forms that’s mandatory for all new employees. It’s used by the federal government to verify employment eligibility to work in the US.
Here’s a quick overview of how Form I-9 works, the basic compliance requirements and instructions, plus what your employee will need to do to complete theirs.
A new, more condensed version of Form I-9 is now available for use as of August 1, 2023, according to an announcement from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Above is a fillable PDF version of Form I-9 that you can print or download.
An I-9 is the Department of Homeland Security’s Employment Eligibility Verification form. Completed by each new employee at your business, it is used to determine and document each employee’s eligibility to work in the US. A few key things to note:
According to the announcement from the USCIS:
Per a summary of changes from the USCIS, the revised Form I-9 has the following updates.
Below are instructions on how to complete the previous version of Form I-9 and we will update this page with instructions on filling out the new version in the coming days.
As an employer, you’ll need to physically view an employee’s chosen form(s) of identification to complete their portion of the I-9. Even though all of the required documents need to be supplied by the employee, you will be required to sign that you have seen documents and identification that verify each employee’s eligibility to work in the US, and that the documentation employees provide are valid.
It is a best practice, but not required, to photocopy any documents employees provide to prove their eligibility. See the full list of acceptable documents below.
The updated I-9 Form has some similarities to its predecessor and the steps to complete it are also similar. If you would like to begin using the new I-9 form, instructions for completing it are immediately below, with screenshots for guidance.
If you would like to continue using the previous version, the USCIS says this is possible through October 31, 2023. (The new form must be used starting November 1, 2023). If you would like to read the previous instructions about how to fill it out, the old version I-9 instructions can be found below toward the bottom of the page.
As we mentioned above, the USCIS released an updated version of Form I-9. At the beginning of the instructions — before explaining each step — the USCIS lists the following pointers for employers to remember when completing Form I-9.
Section 1: Employee Information and Attestation
As in the previous version, the purpose of this section is to indicate the employee’s current immigration status, such as:
Employees need to complete and sign this part of the form by their first day of employment. The employee can also complete Section 1 before they start work, but they must only complete it after accepting a job offer.
Before discussing Section 2, Employer Review and Reverification, let’s discuss one of the new I-9 form’s biggest changes. Previously, if an employee received assistance from a preparer or translator when completing Form I-9, the person who provided assistance had to sign and date the form. That is still a requirement; it’s just that this information now has to be included in a standalone supplement called: Supplement A, Preparer and/or Translator Certificate for Section 1. This appears on page three (and below is a screenshot):
Recordkeeping to keep in mind: Per the USCIS an employer must keep on file any supplement pages that are completed, as well as any photocopies of documentation the employee provided, for as long as the employee works for you.
The next section covers important employer responsibilities.
Within three days of starting work, the newly hired employee must present specific documents attesting to their chosen status entered in Section 1 of the form. Employers must then add this information to Section 2.
Employees can present one selection from List A, or one selection from List B and one selection from List C below. You can see a more detailed list on page two of the I-9 Form instructions. Note that the USCIS instructions state that you should not state which documents the employee should share with you to complete this section.
LIST A | LIST B | LIST C |
U.S. Passport | U.S. Driver’s License | Social Security Card |
U.S. Passport Card | U.S. State I.D. Card | Birth Certificate |
Permanent Resident Card | Voter Registration Card | U.S. Citizen I.D. Card |
Foreign Passport w/I-551 | U.S. Military Card | Receipt for application to replace Social Security Card |
Employment Authorization Document | U.S. Military Dependent I.D. Card | Certificate for Birth Abroad |
A receipt for application to replace passport | Native American Tribal Document |
Before entering information in Section 2, according to the USCIS, you must inspect documents to verify the details are correct. To do this, you must either:
To use E-Verify to examine documents, which is valid as of August 1, 2023, employers must:
More information is available from the Department of Homeland Security.
In the previous edition of Form I-9, this information appeared in Section 3. It is now its own standalone supplement in the revised edition of the form. Supplement B only needs to be filled out if a former employee is rehired within three years of their original hire date, if a document used to verify immigration status has expired, or to provide proof of a legal name change.
In addition to the information above, the USCIS provides a handbook that is updated on a regular basis with guidance. You can access this here.
Or you can see more information about completing this documentation in I-9 Central.
Section 1: Employee information and attestation: Your employee is responsible for completing this section. As part of this, they will indicate their current immigration status such as a citizen of the U.S., non-citizen national of the U.S., lawful permanent resident, or alien authorized to work in the U.S.
This part of the form should be filled out no later than the employee’s first day of employment. A Preparer and/or Translator Certification section will also need to be completed and signed if a translator was used to assist the employee with filling out the form or translating the information in any form.
Section 2: Employer review and verification: Within three days of starting work, the newly hired employee must present specific documents attesting to their chosen status. Employees can present one selection from List A, or one selection from List B and one selection from List C below.
Here is a partial list of acceptable documents. The I-9 instruction form contains a more detailed list.
LIST A | LIST B | LIST C |
U.S. Passport | U.S. Driver’s License | Social Security Card |
U.S. Passport Card | U.S. State I.D. Card | Birth Certificate |
Permanent Resident Card | Voter Registration Card | U.S. Citizen I.D. Card |
Foreign Passport w/I-551 | U.S. Military Card | Receipt for application to replace Social Security Card |
Employment Authorization Document | U.S. Military Dependent I.D. Card | Certificate for Birth Abroad |
A receipt for application to replace passport | Native American Tribal Document |
Again, you cannot specify which documents need to be presented or indicate a preference in any way. If asked, you should refer the employee to the last page of the instructions found on the USCIS website for more information so they can decide for themselves.
Any document presented for proof of work status must be an original document or certified copy. It’s the employer’s responsibility to review all of the documents received and subsequently fill out Section 2, where you will enter information such as Document Title, Issuing Authority, Document Number, and Expiration Date.
You may also choose to make a photocopy of the documents presented to remain with the completed I-9. Once the form is completed, you will need to enter the employee’s start date, sign the form, and add it to your files.
Section 3: Reverification for rehires. Section 3 only needs to be filled out if a former employee is rehired within three years of their original hire date, or if a document used to verify immigration status has expired.
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Unlike other employment forms, an I-9 is not filed with an outside agency, but instead is retained by the employer and made available for inspection by U.S. Government officials as needed. It’s your choice to keep all paper I-9s together in one folder in your employee files or keep each one with the rest of their personnel file.
To make the process simpler in the event of an audit, it’s best practice to store Form I-9 separately from employee files, per the USCIS.
Employers are required to retain an I-9 for as long as the employee remains employed with their business. Once employment ends, the company needs to hold onto the form at least one year after employment has ended.
With U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement increasing the frequency of company audits, it’s vital that this form is filled out accurately and filed on a timely basis to avoid steep penalties and fines.
Visit U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for additional information or to access the IRS instructions for Form I-9.