When you hire a new employee, you must verify that the person is legally eligible to work in the United States. Once you’ve made a job offer (but not before), the new employee must demonstrate eligibility to work in the U.S. by completing the I-9 Form, Employment Eligibility Verification. As an employer it is your responsibility to see that this form from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is completed by the employee and you. Retain the form with your other employment records—do not file it with the government.

The I-9 form is designed to obtain information from new employees that demonstrate their eligibility to work legally in the U.S. No worker is exempt from having to complete the form.

Yes. An employer may provide the Form I-9 to an applicant once they have accepted the offer of employment. The Form I-9 itself gives that permission by stating the employee must complete Section 1 no later than the first day of employment but not before accepting an offer of employment.

Yes. The employer may help a faculty, staff, or student worker who needs assistance in completing Section 1 of the I-9; however, the employer must also complete the "Preparer and/or Translator Certification" block. The employee must still present their original documentation to be reviewed and verified in person.

Employers must complete Section 1 of the I-9 form by the end of the employee's first day of work for pay. Employers must complete Section 2 within 3 business days following the first day of work for pay. For example, if an employee begins work on a Monday, Section 2 of the form must be completed by Thursday.

Employers do not file the I-9 form with any agency. However, the form must be made available for inspection by authorized U.S. Government officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Labor, or Department of Justice.For this reason, it is a best practice to retain all I-9 forms together in one file.Employers are required to retain the completed Form I-9 for at least three years following the employee's date of hire or for one year following separation from the company, whichever is later.