I-9 Form Standards

You, the employer, may run afoul of the federal government for incorrectly gathering information for the I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification), not thoroughly examining the documents and not maintaining them. You must hold onto I-9 forms for at least three years from the date of hire or one year after an employee leaves the job--whichever occurs later.

When an employee begins to work with a company, he or she must fill out an I-9 form. The Department of Justice (DOJ) looks for two kinds of errors on the I-9 form: substantial errors or forgivable errors.

For example, if your employee's name is not written on the I-9 or the employee neglected to sign the form, this is a substantial error. If your employee forgets to list her maiden name, this is a forgivable error.

If the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) finds that you knowingly violated the law, your penalty could range from $100 to $2000. (The fine increases for second and third offenses.) These lesser fines are imposed if the INS determines that it is a simple paperwork violation as opposed to knowingly hiring unauthorized workers. The fines can be imposed even if the employee is a U.S. citizen.

The I-9 is divided into three sections:

Section 1: Employee
Your employee must sign and date the form in this section no later than the date of hire.

If the DOJ conducts an audit, your company and perhaps even the person who signed the I-9 on behalf of the company could be individually liable to the federal government for $1,000 per violation.

Section 2: Employer Review and Verification
There are restrictions on which documents you can ask your employees to give you. You must receive and examine the documents within three days of the date of hire to make sure they appear genuine and that they refer to the individual to be hired. You are not required to independently investigate, or ask the INS to investigate, to confirm that they are genuine.

Your employees can show either an original document that establishes both identity and employment eligibility (such as a green card or a U.S. passport) or one original document that establishes identity (such as a state driver's license) and another that establishes authorization to work (such as a Social Security card).

If a document has an expiration date, you must write that date in Section 2 of Form I-9.

You cannot ask for a specific document, such as a green card. Employees have a choice: they either must show you one document that establishes both identity and employment eligibility (List A), or one document that establishes identity (List B) and one document that establishes employment eligibility (List C).

List A: Documents that establish both identity and employment eligibility

  • U.S. passport (expired or un-expired)

  • Un-expired "Alien Registration Receipt Card" (green card), Form I-551, with photo

  • Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (INS Form N-560 or N-561)

  • Certificate of Naturalization (INS Form N-550 or N-570)

  • Unexpired foreign passport, with I-551 stamp or attached INS Form I-551 or attached INS Form I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization

  • Unexpired Temporary Resident Card (INS Form I-688)

  • Unexpired Employment Authorization Card (INS Form I-688A)

  • Unexpired re-entry permit (INS Form I-327)

  • Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (INS Form I-571)

  • Unexpired Employment Authorization Document issued by the INS that contains a photograph (INS Form I-688B)

List B: Documents that establish identity
If your employee is 16 or older, he or she may present one of the following:

  • State driver's license or ID card with photo

  • School ID with photo

  • Voter registration card

  • U.S. military card or draft record

  • ID card issued by federal, state, or local government agency

  • Military dependent's ID card

  • Native American tribal document

  • U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner card

  • Driver's license issued by Canadian governmental authority

If the prospective employee is under age 18 and cannot present one of the identification documents listed above, he or she can present any one of the following:

  • School record or report card

  • Clinic doctor or hospital record

  • Day care or nursery school record

If your prospective employee is under age 18 and cannot show the documents just noted, he or she must follow all the steps below:

  • Parent or guardian must complete Section 1 of Form I-9 and write "minor under 18" at the place for the employee's signature.

  • Parent or guardian must complete the "Preparer/Translator Certification" on Form I-9.

  • Employer, in Section 2, must write "minor under age 18" in the space after "Document Identification."

An employee who is over 18, physically disabled and placed into employment by a nonprofit organization or association or as part of a rehabilitation program, may follow the procedures above. Instead of the words "minor under age 18," use the phrase "special placement." In addition to a parent or guardian, a representative of the nonprofit organization may fill out and sign Form I-9.

List C: Documents that establish employment eligibility

  • Social Security card, unless "Not valid for employment purposes" is printed on it

  • Certificate of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545 or Form DS-1350)

  • Original copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, municipal authority or outlying possession of the United States

  • Native American tribal document

  • U.S. Citizen ID Card (INS Form I-197)

  • ID Card for use of Resident Citizen in the United States (INS Form I-179)

  • Unexpired employment authorization document issued by the INS

You may not ask for two or three documents for identification and two or three documents to prove eligibility to work. If you ask for more than the minimum required by the INS, you run the risk of engaging in an unlawful employment practice. If a job applicant shows you a driver's license and Social Security card, for example, that's enough.

If you refuse to hire the applicant unless he or she shows you more, he or she can file a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel and get job reinstatement and back pay from you for him or herself as well as for all similarly situated job applicants.

Section 3: Updating and Reverification
This section need only be changed in certain situations: if the employee's name changes, if you rehire someone or if your employee's work authorization expires and needs to be updated.