The Employment Eligibility Verification of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, more commonly known as Form I-9, is a requirement for all employers to have a completed form for each employee. That alone can have some employers saying, “Aye Yai Yai…” Updated earlier this year, March 31, 2016, the first step is to make sure you are using the most current version of the I-9. Human Resource professionals who handle the I-9 routinely and see common mistakes, share advice for correctly filling out the form.
1st Things 1st
The Form I-9 must be filled out on or before the first day of work. Forms with a hire date after the date of the form are not completed correctly. It is a good practice to ask newly hired employees to come in the week, or a day or two, before starting work to complete paperwork. Be sure to ask them to bring the appropriate forms of identification.
On the 3rd Day…
Employers must certify the I-9 within three days of the first day of work. Certification is found at the bottom of page 2 of the form. The employer simply signs, dates, and fills in employer information to attest that the documents have been examined, appear genuine, and to the best of his or her knowledge the employee is authorized to work in the United States.
About Those Documents…
There are certain forms of identification that are acceptable for the I-9. Each form is listed on either List A, List B, or List C. List A, B, and C do not mean you list three forms of ID. You must fill in the form with the correct form of ID for that List. If you have one of the forms of ID on List A, that is all you need. These are things like a U.S. Passport, Permanent Resident Card, or Alien Registration Receipt Card.
Or, you can use a combination from List B and List C. List B includes Driver’s License or ID Card. List C includes a Social Security Card, Birth Certificate, and a few others. Look at the back of Form I-9 for more information.
Use these helpful tips to turn your “Aye Yai Yai” into “Ahhhh….”
