Employers must properly complete a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification (the I-9 Form) for every new hire.

Best practices:

• Always use the current I-9 Form edition;
• Require the employee to complete section 1 by the first day of work (but never before accepting the job offer);
• Complete employer section 2 within three business days of the employee’s first day of work;
• Conduct in-person document inspections. For fully remote long-distance hires, employers may need to designate an “authorized representative,” such as a local law firm, human resources consultant, or notary public to conduct the in-person inspection.  In California, authorized notaries public must be registered and bonded as immigration consultants;
• Employers enrolled in E-Verify may use an optional alternative procedure to verify Form I-9 documents electronically through live video interaction in lieu of in-person inspections.
• Retain I-9 Form records for at least three years from the hire date or one year from termination date, whichever is longer;
• Store all I-9 Forms in a secure location separate from the employee’s personnel file;
• Consider keeping one set of completed I-9 forms for active employees and one set for former employees; and
• If applicable, carefully comply with UCIS’s electronic storage system requirements. 

Take-Aways:

Employers must take their I-9 obligations seriously.  For further guidance on completing the I-9 Form, correcting errors or missing information, retaining the I-9 Form, and reverifying documents for current or rehired employees, employers should refer to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)’s comprehensive “M-274: Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9”.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth, or Helena Kobrin.

See also:

• Team Building Insurance Workplace Policy Handbook & Forms for 2024 (May 22, 2024)
• I-9 Rules Change Again – Remote Verification Possible for E-Verify Users (August 17, 2023)
• National Origin Discrimination Clarified – New California Regulations (June 1, 2018)

Cindy Bamforth
July 5, 2024