By HR Brew Staff
3 min read
Definition:
Officially called Employment Eligibility Verification, the Form I-9 is intended to verify the identity and employment eligibility of those hired to work in the US. All employers and employees must complete the form, which is issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, whether or not they are US citizens. Employers that do not complete the form may be subject to penalties.
What is the history of the I-9 form, and how has it evolved?
Created as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which made it illegal for employers to knowingly hire unauthorized workers (including undocumented immigrants), I-9 forms became mandatory for all new employees at the time of their hire starting on November 6, 1986.
Subsequent legislation further shaped the Form I-9, including the Immigration Act of 1990 which prohibits employers from discriminating against a worker by using the form, and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996, which reduced the list of documents that employers could accept to verify a new hire’s work authorization.
The Basic Pilot Program was formed from the IIRIRA as a way to determine employee eligibility, and the federal government officially launched it as a free online service in 2007 under its new name: E-Verify. Nine states require all employers to use E-Verify, while some have exemptions or various requirements. Form I-9 is continually updated, and the latest version was released in April 2025 and expires on May 31, 2027.
How does the form I-9 work?
Only four parties are allowed to complete a Form I-9: the employee, employer, or an authorized representative who completes and signs the form on an employers’ behalf, and a preparer or translator who assists the worker with filling out their part of the form. Employees must provide documents under an approved list to verify their identity and work authorization.
A worker must complete and sign the form no later than their first day of employment, and the employer must complete the form within three days of the employee’s start date. While the form does not need to be filed with the government, employers must keep them on hand for the employee’s entire duration at the company, or either three years after the worker’s first day, or one year after their employment ends—whichever timespan is the longest.
What is an I-9 inspection?
The federal government retains the right to request Form I-9’s and supporting documents for inspection. If the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targets a business for inspection, it should provide them with a Notice of Inspection, requesting specific forms, at least three days in advance.
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After the employer provides the documents, agents will inspect them to check if they are in compliance and accurate. Should inspectors find any errors, an employer has at least 10 business days to correct them. If they fail to correct those errors, employers can be fined thousands of dollars per form. And, if employers are found to have knowingly hired an unauthorized worker, they can face steeper fines depending on the amount of violations committed, as well as potential criminal prosecution.
Can you put Form I-9 into context?
“I-9 audits are expected to increase once Trump is in office. HR teams should ensure that their documentation process is meticulous, and that staff are properly trained in the forms’ preparation and maintenance to avoid making mistakes or errors that could land them in trouble,” HR Brew previously reported.
