The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) was established to prevent individuals who are not eligible to work in the United States from performing work. The act requires employers to complete an I-9 form for each employee within three days of hire.
Employers across the country are asking employees to work from home to stop the spread of coronavirus—but these employers must still meet their obligations for verifying employment authorization, which requires an in-person or virtual examination of documents.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stated that it is not changing its policy requiring the employer or authorized representative to examine—with the new hire physically present—identification documents to determine if they appear to be genuine.
As of this time, this and all other Form I-9 requirements remain in effect.
Completing the I-9 Form for Employers
Generally, within three days of an employee’s first day at work, Employer must complete section II of Form I-9. First, the employer needs to write in the employee’s full name under section 2. Then, the employer must take the document(s) that the employee submitted and indicate whether it’s included under list A, B and C. For each of these documents, the employer has to write down the title of the document, the document number, its expiration date and the name of whoever issued it.
In the last part of the second section, the employer must list the employee’s first day of work and sign and date the form. The employer must also write in their full name, company name and company address. As long as employees are working at a company for more than three days, they can present receipts (like a receipt proving that they’re waiting for a replacement document after their original one was damaged or lost) if they don’t have access to any of the listed documents.
Employers only need to fill out the third part of Form I-9 if they’re rehiring or re-verifying an employee. If a hiring manager rehires someone within three years of signing their initial I-9 form, the employer can either complete part III of the form or fill out a brand new I-9 form.
Section III of Form I-9 is relatively easy to complete. Employers only need to list an employee’s full name and rehire date. If the employee’s employment authorization expired at some point, the employer will need to list whatever document the employee used to verify that they can still work in the country (whether it’s from list A or list B and C).
Finally, the employer must sign, date and print their name on the form.
Bottom Line
From a legal standpoint, a new employee can’t work without filling out an I-9 form. If an employer or his or her employees has trouble completing the form, they can always meet with a lawyer or reach out to someone from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. If anyone fails to provide accurate information on Form I-9, they risk facing charges. Please see full video(insert youtube video link here) on how to complete an I-9 successfully.
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