Employers Must Use New Form I-9 Soon

This content is based on generally accepted HR practices, is advisory in nature, and does not constitute legal advice or other professional services. ADP does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, reliability, and completeness of the content. Employers are encouraged to consult with legal counsel for advice regarding their organization’s compliance with applicable laws. Certain employers who choose to remotely examine the employee’s documentation under a DHS-authorized alternative procedure must check the box to indicate they did so. The first action item is to create a policy that clearly outlines who can act as an agent for the organization.

List A Documents – Work Authorization and Identity

However, for workplaces operating remotely as a result of COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been allowing employers to inspect I-9 documents remotely and postpone review in the employee’s physical presence. The current guidance was set to expire on April 30, 2022, but DHS has recently extended Form I-9 requirement flexibility, effective May 1, 2022 through October 31, 2022, as part of ongoing COVID-19 precautions. U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement and the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) have provided joint guidance to help employers perform internal audits.

Federal Forms

The student is authorized to work until USCIS makes a decision on their application, but not more than 180 days from the date of the initial OPT EAD expiration date. Official websites use .govA .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. ADP SmartCompliance for employment verification meets the applicable requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act(FCRA), including providing verification reports only to credentialed verifiers who certify they have a permissiblepurpose.

Most Accessed Forms

Form I-9 is a fillable form, which means you can type your answers directly into the form, except for the signature blocks. Failure to meet DHS standards for electronically generated, stored and/or retained Form I-9 may result in fines and other penalties. Only employers located in Puerto Rico may complete the Spanish-language version of Form I-9 instead of the English-language version. Any employer may use the Spanish-language form and instructions as a translation tool. Employers must retain all completed pages of Form I-9 for a designated period and make them available for inspection by authorized government officers.

Q: When must employers begin using the new version of the Form I-9?

Under this method, the authorized representative will view the documents in the remote employee’s presence. This accommodation is available to employers who were participating in E-Verify during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers who were not enrolled in E-Verify during the COVID-19 flexibility policy must complete an in-person physical examination by August 30, 2023. In short, the regulations effectively require qualified employers choosing to utilize the alternative procedure in lieu of physical document examination to again perform a virtual / remote examination by August 30, 2023. Lastly, employers should review all remotely completed I-9s by establishing a review process and validating that all information is entered correctly. Common errors to look for include wrong documents being accepted, missing document information and not retaining photocopies required by the organization or E-Verify.

Our goal is to help minimize your administrative burden across the entire spectrum of employment-related payroll, tax, HR and benefits, so that you can focus on running your business. This information is provided as a courtesy to assist in your understanding of the impact of certain regulatory requirements and should not be construed as tax or legal advice. Such information is by nature subject to revision and may not be the most current information available. ADP encourages readers to consult with appropriate legal and/or tax advisors.

Why is Form I-9 crucial for your business?

To complete Form I-9 for on-campus employment, the F-1 student employee is only required to present an unexpired foreign passport and an I-94 indicating F-1 nonimmigrant status. Employers are not required to record information from the student’s Form I-20 in Section 2. On-campus employment is authorized until the completion of the student’s course of study. The F-1 nonimmigrant admission notation on Form I-94/I-94A usually states “D/S” which means duration of status.

• The employer should attach a note to the employee’s Form I-9 explaining the discrepancy.
• The employer must examine these documents to determine whether they reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the employee, then record the document information on the employee’s Form I-9.
• It also integrates Form I-9 with other essential new hire forms like W-4 and direct deposit authorization, providing a centralized onboarding process.

Employers use Form I-9 to verify a new hire’s identity and work authorization for employment in the United States. All employers (or authorized representatives of the employer) are required to complete an I-9 form for each individual they hire, including citizens and noncitizens. Second, the employer must examine the front and back (if the document is two-sided) copy of the identity and employment authorization documentation to ensure that the documentation presented reasonably appears to be genuine.

For example, if your employee began work for pay on Monday, you must complete Section 2 by Thursday of that week. If the job lasts less than 3 days, you must complete Section 2 no later than the first day of work for pay. Recruiters and referrers for a fee do not enter the employee’s adp i-9 form first day of employment.

• Both employees and employers (or authorized representatives of the employer) must complete the form.
• As efforts to enforce immigration regulations increase, a new wrinkle for employers comes in the form of a new version of the I-9 form.
• ADP does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, reliability, and completeness of the content.
• The form is used to verify a new hire’s identity and work authorization.

The Alternative Procedure

As mentioned above, employers that use the alternative procedure with an employee must retain a clear and legible copy of all documents presented by the employee seeking to establish identity and employment eligibility for Form I–9. However, an employer may choose to offer the alternative procedure for remote hires only, but continue to apply physical examination procedures to all employees who work onsite or in a hybrid capacity. Employers may do this so long as they do not adopt such a practice for a discriminatory purpose or treat employees differently based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin. Form I-9 regulations allow employers to choose whether to keep copies of documents employees submit to complete their Form I-9. Therefore, you may choose to begin or end the practice of keeping copies of documents at any time, as long as you do so for all employees, regardless of national origin or citizenship status, or you may be in violation of anti-discrimination laws. If a qualified employer chooses to offer the alternative procedure to new employees at an E-Verify hiring site, that employer must do so consistently for all employees at that site.

Complete a new certification block in Supplement A, Preparer and/or Translator Certification for Section 1. For more guidance on reverification and F-1 STEM OPT extensions and cap-gap for students, see the Guidance for Completing Form I-9 Handbook (PDF). You can’t afford the risk of business HR problems, especially when it comes to compliance.