Form I-9 Remediation Tips

 

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, principally responsible for immigration enforcement. U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement and the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) have provided joint guidance to help employers carry out internal audits. Audits allow employers to make certain Forms I-9’s have been completed correctly, and to make corrections if errors are found.

I-9 Remediation Steps for Risk Mitigation

• Accumulate all I-9 Forms in database

Employers must inspect that there is a Form I-9 completed for every current employee who works for the employer in the United States. Employers should keep a list of current employees for whom they do not have a Form I-9.

Employers should have two files of I-9s:

1. Forms I-9 (electronic or paper) for current employees.
2. Forms I-9 (electronic or paper) for terminated employees.

Each of these I-9 categories will be managed independently according to importance. Current employees who have no Form I-9 on file of highest importance, as their eligibility to work in the United States should be verified.

• Complete Forms I-9 for current Employees who are missing I-9s

Any employee hired before Nov. 6, 1986, and still employed with the company is not required to have an I-9 form. However, all employees hired on or after this date and who do not have an I-9 on file will need to be contacted and instructed to bring documentation from List A or Lists B and C of Form I-9.

• Employers may only correct errors made in Section 2 or Section 3 of Form I-9

For all mistakes pertaining to Section 2 and Section 3 of Form I-9, the employer must make the necessary corrections.

• Employees must make corrections to Section 1

Corrections to Section 1 of the Form I-9 is always done by the employee.

• Use a new Form I-9 for correcting multiple errors

To correct multiple, recording errors on the form, you may redo the section on a new Form I-9 and attach it to the old form. A new Form I-9 can also be completed if major errors (such as entire sections being left blank or Section 2 being completed based on unacceptable documents) need to be corrected. A note should be included in the file regarding the reason you made changes to an existing Form I-9 or completed a new Form I-9.

• To correct the form

Draw a line through the incorrect information.

Enter the correct information.

Initial and date the correction.

Employers need to check the following information in each section of the Form I-9:

Section 1

1. The name, address, and date of birth must be entered.
2. An employee must enter his or her Social Security number if the employer participates in E-Verify.
3. The employee must identify his or her immigration status and sign and date the form.
4. The translator section is to be completed only if someone other than the employee completed Section 1 on behalf of the employee.

Section 2

1. The proper document must be entered into the appropriate column. For example, employers must ensure that a List B document is in fact listed under List B and not under List C or List A.
2. All required information must be entered for each document.
3. The documents listed must satisfy the requirement to provide both proof of identity and proof of eligibility to work in the U.S.
4. The certification section must be completed, and a representative of the company must sign and date the form.

Section 3

1. This section should be completed only if the employee’s work authorization expired or if the employee has been rehired. It can also be completed if the employee had a name change, but this is not required. In most cases, Section 3 will be blank.
2. Expired permanent resident cards and List B documents from the Form I-9 do not need to be reverified. These documents must not be expired when the I-9 is initially completed, but their subsequent expiration does not trigger the requirement to reverify the I-9.