Form I-9 Tutorial

• Welcome
• Pre-training Test
• Introduction
• Who Needs to Complete Form I-9?
• When and How to Complete Form I-9
  • Section 1
  • Section 2
  • Section 3
• Documents with Expiration Dates
• Document Receipts
• Record Retention
• Penalties
• Documents for Foreign Nationals
• Common Errors
• Samples of Compliant I-9 Forms
• Resources
• Contacts for Assistance
• Post-training Test
• Evaluation

• Study Guide

When and How to Complete Form I-9

The I-9 Form must be completed and verified by a designated University of Chicago employee. A new employee must either come to a University office to complete the I-9 or a current University employee must go to the new employee. An exception would be if the University has contracted with a vendor to handle new employee paperwork.

Overview

The I-9 Form contains three separate and distinct sections:

• Section 1: Employee Information and Verification
• Section 2: Employer Review and Verification
• Section 3: Updating and Reverification

Section 1: Employee Information and Verification

Section 1 of the I-9 Form must be completed on the employee’s first day of work. The employee attests that he/she is eligible to work in the United States. The employer is responsible for ensuring that Section 1 is completed correctly and on that day.

Note: The University is not liable if the employee makes false statements but appears to have recorded reasonable answers. The University, however, is required to investigate and resolve conflicting information when the documents presented contradict information provided by the employee in Section 1.

Steps

The employee must do the following to complete Section 1:

1. Enter personal information; including full name and address
2. Mark the appropriate checkbox to confirm employment eligibility.
3. Read, sign and date the form.
4. If a preparer or translator assists the employee, the preparer/translator should read all of Section 1, enter his or her name and address, signature, and date in the appropriate spaces.

Section 2: Employer Review and Verification

Section 2 of the I-9 Form is completed within 3 business days of the date employment begins when the employee presents original documents to establish employment eligibility and identity. It is the employee's choice which documents he/she presents. Acceptable documents are listed on the back of the I-9 Form. Employees must present documents that indicate their identity and their work eligibility. List A contains a list of acceptable documents that verify both identity and work eligibility. List B contains a list of acceptable documents that verify identity. List C contains a list of acceptable documents that verify work eligibility. An employee must present either acceptable document(s) from List A or acceptable documents from both List B and List C.
The employer reviews the documents, completes Section 2 and signs and dates the I-9 Form. If the employee cannot produce either original documents or a receipt of the application for the document (such as for a duplicate Social Security card) the individual must be terminated. If a document receipt is produced, the employee has 90 days to produce the original. (See Section 3)

Steps

1. The employee chooses the documents to present to the employer.
2. For List A or Lists B and C, you review the documents and record the following information for each one:
• document title
• issuing authority
• document number
• expiration date (if any)
3. Under Certification, you record:
• the employee's start date
• your signature,
• your name, title, organization name and address
• the date
4. Make a copy of the employee's document(s) and attach to the I-9 form.

Section 3: Employment Reverification

Section 3 of the I-9 form can be used for employment reverification when an employee's work authorization expires or when an employee is rehired. At the University of Chicago, if an employee is re-hired, it is University practice to complete a new I-9 form for that person. Section 3 of the I-9 form, employment reverification, must be completed when an employee's work authorization nears expiration but he/she is currently eligible to work on a different basis or under a new grant of work authorization. (For example: a student employee may have previously been granted work authorization under the F-1 visa but now he/she has applied for and received an H1B Visa with a different end date.) Reverification must be completed on or before the expiration date recorded in Section 1.

Note: Section 3 of the original I-9 Form may be used for re-verification but since the I-9s are kept by University Human Resources Management (for nonacademic staff) or the Provost's office (for faculty and academic nonprofessionals), they may not be accessible for this purpose. It is, therefore, acceptable to complete Section 3 on a new I-9 Form, provided you enter the employee's name in Section 1 and send the form to UHRM or the Provost's office.

Steps

1. The employee presents a document that reflects that the employee is authorized to work in the U.S. (see List A or C).
2. Review the document and record the following information:
   • new name (if applicable)
   • date of rehire (if applicable)
   • document title
   • document number
   • expiration date (if any)
3. Sign and date Section 3.
4. Make a copy of the employee's document(s) and attach to the I-9 form.