Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification)

The federal form every US employer must complete for every employee hired after November 6, 1986, verifying the employee's identity and authorization to work in the United States.

Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) is a mandatory federal document that US employers must complete for every person hired to work in the United States, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. Required under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), the I-9 is a two-part process: the employee completes Section 1, attesting to their identity and employment authorization status, and the employer completes Section 2, reviewing and recording the documents the employee presents as evidence of their identity and work authorization. The completed I-9 must be retained by the employer for a specified period and is subject to inspection by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Justice, and the Department of Labor.

The I-9 requires employees to present documents from one of three lists: List A documents establish both identity and employment authorization (US passport, permanent resident card, Employment Authorization Document); List B documents establish identity only (driver's license, state ID); List C documents establish employment authorization only (Social Security card, birth certificate for US citizens). Employees must present either one List A document or a combination of one List B and one List C document. Employers must physically examine the documents — or conduct a remote examination under authorized procedures — and record the document information on Section 2. Employers cannot specify which documents an employee must present (beyond requiring they come from the acceptable lists) and cannot reject documents that reasonably appear genuine.

Completing I-9s correctly is a compliance obligation with real penalties for errors. ICE conducts I-9 audits — both targeted and random — and assesses civil penalties for both technical violations (incomplete forms, missing information) and substantive violations (accepting unacceptable documents, failing to complete I-9s for all employees). Civil penalties for substantive violations range from $281 to $2,789 per violation for first offenses (2024 figures, adjusted annually for inflation); knowingly hiring or continuing to employ unauthorized workers carries higher penalties and potential criminal liability. These penalties are per I-9, so an employer with many employees and systematic errors can face significant fines.

Remote and hybrid work has added complexity to I-9 compliance. Historically, employers were required to physically examine I-9 documents in person. During the COVID-19 pandemic, DHS authorized temporary remote I-9 examination procedures for fully remote employees. In 2023, DHS made a permanent alternative procedure available for employers enrolled in E-Verify: employees can present documents via live video interaction with an authorized employer representative, who records an identical review of the documents remotely. This provides a compliant path for onboarding employees in locations where no company representative is physically present. Employers who used the temporary COVID-era remote procedure for employees hired between March 2020 and July 2023 were required to complete in-person document re-examination by a specified deadline.

I-9 Document Lists

  • List A (identity AND work authorization — one document sufficient): US Passport or Passport Card; Permanent Resident Card (Green Card); Employment Authorization Document (EAD); Foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp; Foreign passport with Form I-94 showing specific nonimmigrant status.
  • List B (identity only — must be combined with a List C document): Driver's license or state ID card issued by a state or outlying territory; federal, state, or local government agency ID card with photo; school ID with photo; Voter's registration card; US military card; Native American tribal document.
  • List C (work authorization only — must be combined with a List B document): Social Security card (unrestricted); Certification of Report of Birth (DS-1350, FS-545, FS-240); Original or certified copy of US birth certificate; Native American tribal document; US Citizen ID card; ID card for use of Resident Citizen in the United States; Employment authorization document issued by DHS (not the EAD card).

I-9 Retention Requirements

  • Employers must retain completed I-9s for the later of: (a) 3 years after the date of hire, or (b) 1 year after the date employment ends.
  • Example: an employee hired January 1, 2020 and terminated June 1, 2022 — the I-9 must be retained until June 1, 2023 (one year after termination), which is longer than the 3-year-from-hire date of January 1, 2023.
  • I-9s should be stored separately from regular personnel files — if ICE requests I-9s for inspection, separating them prevents inspectors from accessing other confidential HR records.
  • Electronic I-9 storage is permitted if the electronic system meets DHS standards for security, accessibility, and audit trails.
  • Employers must make I-9s available for inspection within three business days of a request by ICE, DOL, or DOJ — and cannot refuse or delay without facing separate penalties.

Common I-9 Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

  • Late completion: Section 1 must be completed no later than the first day of employment; Section 2 must be completed within three business days. Completing I-9s after the fact is a violation.
  • Over-documentation: requesting more documents than required (e.g., asking for both a passport and a driver's license) is unlawful — employees need only present the minimum required combination.
  • Discriminatory document requests: specifying which documents an employee must present, or rejecting documents that appear genuine because of the employee's national origin or citizenship status, is unlawful under the Immigration and Nationality Act's anti-discrimination provisions.
  • Missing reverification: employees with temporary work authorization (such as an EAD with an expiration date) must have their I-9 reverified on or before the expiration of their work authorization — failing to reverify is a violation.
  • Treating all foreign nationals the same: permanent residents and asylees are permanently authorized to work and do not require reverification when their green card expires — their work authorization is not tied to the document's expiration date.

Example

A new software engineer starts work on a Monday. On her first day, she completes Section 1 of the I-9, indicating she is a US citizen. She presents her US passport as a List A document. The HR coordinator completes Section 2, recording the passport number, expiration date, and issuing authority, and signs and dates the form. The I-9 is stored electronically in the company's HR system, separate from her general personnel file. Three years later, she resigns. The company retains her I-9 until one year after her termination — the longer of the two required retention periods. When ICE conducts a random audit of the company's I-9 records two years after her departure, her correctly completed and retained I-9 is produced without issue.