New Employer Requirement: Form I-9

Starting January 22, 2017…

All employers will be required to start using the new Form I-9. Since using the wrong form and/or failing to fully complete the form may result in hefty administrative fines being assessed against your company, now is the perfect time to verify that you are fully complying with the I-9 process.

What is the I-9 Process? 

The employer (and employee) must complete the Form I-9 by taking the following steps:

On or before the employee’s first day of employment: The employee must fully complete and sign Section 1 of the form and return the completed form to the employer along with documents establishing the employee’s identity and authorization to work in the United States.

On or before the employee’s third day of employment:

The employer must –

Review Section 1 of the form and verify that the employee provided information in all required fields and signed and dated the form.

If a preparer/translator was used, also verify the Preparer/Translator section has been completed, signed, and dated.

Review the documents provided by the employee to determine if it reasonably appears to be the original document, genuine and to relate to the new employee.

Fully complete and sign Section 2 of the form.

If the employee is a rehire (within 3 years of the date that Form I-9 was originally completed) or a re-verification: (i.e. your employee’s employment authorization or documentation of employment authorization has expired) — Fully complete and sign Section 3 of the form.

How long must the Form I-9 be kept?

Current Employees: Completed I-9 forms must be kept for the duration of employment.

Terminated (former) employees: Completed I-9 forms must be kept for either one year after the employee’s termination or three years after hire (whichever is later).

For more information regarding the new Form I-9, go to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services “I-9 Central”.