I-9 compliance is required for all employers to verify the identity and work eligibility of all employees, regardless of citizenship status. Employers must complete Section 1 within 3 days of hire and examine identity and work eligibility documents. Proper completion and retention of I-9 forms for 3 years is required to avoid penalties up to $3,000 per violation. Employers must be careful not to request unnecessary documents or discriminate in the I-9 process. Proper I-9 compliance and self-audits can help employers avoid legal issues.

1. I-9 COMPLIANCE: WHAT EVERY EMPLOYERS NEEDS TO BE WARY OF!
By Ashima Arora*
We all hear about increased enforcement of immigration laws but are under the
impression that one need only worry about immigration laws if one employs aliens. This
is a MYTH. In September 2010, Abercombie & Fitch was fined $1,047,110.00 for their
technology related deficiencies in I-9 verification system. It’s not just about hiring
unauthorized employees/workers knowingly or unknowingly but proper identification,
completion, re-verification and retention of I-9 forms for all employees is imperative. I-9
compliance is required for every employee Citizen or non-citizen.
So what is I-9 and what steps must employer take to comply with I-9?
I-9 is a one page form1 divided into three sections requiring employee to show work
authorization and identity and employer to verify the same.
Section 1 should be completed and signed by new employee no later than the first day of
employment, regardless of his or her immigration status.
Section 2 of I-9 form must be completed by Employers signed and dated within 3
business days of the employee’s first day of employment. If the employment relationship
will last less than 3 days, then the employer must verify work authorization and complete
Section 2 no later than the first day of employment. Employer must physically examine
the documents. If an employee is unable to present required document(s) within 3
business days, the employee must produce a receipt showing that he/she has applied for
the replacement document. In addition, the employee must present the actual document
within 90 days of the hire AND the employee must have indicated that he/she is already
eligible to be employed in the United States by checking the appropriate box in Section 1.
Section 3 of I-9 form must be periodically updated and re-verified by employer for
employees who are not permanently authorized to work in United States.
There are three lists of documents:
1
I-9 form can be downloaded from- http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf

2. List A2 documents establish both identity and authorization to work in the United States.
The applicant may show any one of these documents to complete the I-9 Form. If the
applicant does not provide one of the documents specified in List A, the person may
show a document described in List B and a document described in List C.
List B3 documents only establish identity.
List C4 documents only establish employment eligibility, meaning the person is
authorized to work in the United States.
2
List A Documents
1. U.S. Passport (unexpired or expired)
2. Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (INS Form N-560 or N-561)
3. Certificate of Naturalization (INS Form N-550 or N-570)
4. Unexpired foreign passport, with I-551 stamp or attached INS Form I-94 indicating unexpired
employment authorization
5. Alien Registration Receipt Card with photograph (INS Form I-151 or I-551)
6. Unexpired Temporary Resident Card (INS Form I-688)
7. Unexpired Employment Authorization Card (INS Form I-688A)
8. Unexpired Reentry Permit (INS Form I-327)
9. Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (INS Form I-571)
10. Unexpired Employment Authorization Document issued by the INS which contains a photograph (INS
Form I-688B)
3
List B Documents
These documents establish identity. Unless the person has provided a document from List A (above), the
applicant must show a document in both List B and List C to complete the I-9 Form.
1. Driver's license or ID card issued by a state or outlying possession of the United States provided it
contains a photograph or information such as name, date of birth, sex, height, eye color, and address;
2. ID card issued by federal, state or local government agencies or entities provided it contains a
photograph or information such as name, date of birth, sex, height, eye color, and address;
3. School ID card with a photograph;
4. Voter's registration card;
5. U.S. Military card or draft record;
6. Military dependent's ID card;
7. U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card;
8. Native American tribal document;
9. Driver's license issued by a Canadian government authority.
For persons under age 18 who are unable to present a document listed above:
10. School record or report card
11. Clinic, doctor, or hospital record
12. Day-care or nursery school record .
4
List C Documents

3. If the employee cannot produce the required documents within the requisite time that
employee should be terminated immediately.
Retention Period
Employers must fill out and keep a Form I-9 for every employee hired on or after
November 6, 1986. Employers must do an I-9 form for every employee, and not just non-
citizens. In the case of former employees, retention of Forms I-9 are required for a period
of at least three years from the date of hire or for one year after the employee is no longer
employed, whichever is longer.
Exceptions
I-9 compliance is not required for below employees:
i. Hired before November 7, 1986, who are continuing in their employment and have a
reasonable expectation of employment at all times;
ii. Employed for casual domestic work in a private home on a sporadic, irregular, or
intermittent basis;
iii. Independent contractors; or
iv. Providing labor to you who are employed by a contractor providing contract
services;
v. Not physically working on U.S.soil.
Penalties
The Law provides for penalties from $100 to $1,000 for each incorrect or missing I-9.
The number of criminal prosecutions of employers found to be in violation of I-9
employment eligibility verification has also risen steadily over the past few years. The
employer is required to verify documents for both identity and authorization to work in
the United States. Persons or entities who are convicted of having engaged in a pattern or
practice of knowingly hiring unauthorized aliens (or continuing to employ aliens
These documents establish employment eligibility.
1. U.S. social security card issued by the Social Security Administration (other than a card stating it is
not valid for employment)
2. Certification of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545 or Form DS-1350)
3. Original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, municipal authority or
outlying possession of the United States bearing an official seal
4. Native American tribal document
5. U.S. Citizen ID Card (INS Form I-197)
6. ID Card for use of Resident Citizen in the United States (INS Form I-179)
7. Unexpired employment authorization document issued by the INS (other than those listed under List
A)

4. knowing that they are or have become unauthorized to work in the United States) after
November 6, 1986, may face fines of up to $3,000 per employee and/or 6 months
imprisonment. Persons who use fraudulent identification or employment authorization
documents or documents that were lawfully issued to another person, or who make a
false statement or attestation to satisfy the employment eligibility verification
requirements, may be fined, or imprisoned for up to 5 years, or both.
The violations can be by hiring unauthorized workers, paperwork violations of I-9, lack
of verification of documents presented, asking more documents than necessary which can
lead to discrimination lawsuits5. Proper completion of I-9 forms is one of the best ways
to avoid legal penalties.
Federal contractors and subcontractors are required to use E-Verify as of September 8,
2009. E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows an employer, using information
reported on an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to determine
the eligibility of that employee to work in the United States. For most employers, the use
of E-Verify is voluntary and limited to determining the employment eligibility of new
hires only. The law also obliges U.S. employers not to discriminate against individuals on
the basis of national origin or citizenship, or require different documents from an
individual. Thus it is imperative to comply with I-9 after making a decision to hire and
not to request different or more documents than is necessary to avoid claims of
discrimination and document abuse.
Let’s begin this year by proper compliance of I-9 forms and emplacing a mechanism of
internal self-audits of I-9 forms to avoid unwanted fines later.
*Attorney Ashima Arora is licensed in Texas, California (inactive), Solicitor (non-
practicing) in England & Wales. For questions email at ashima@ashimachocklaw.com or
call at: 713.595.6657 or mail: P.O. Box 940543, Houston, TX 77094-7543
The information in this column is not intended as legal advice but to provide a general
understanding of the law.
5
On December 29, 2010, Department of Justice in its news release reported a fine and settlement imposed
on Collins Management Group for refusing to accept valid Drivers license and unrestricted social security
card and instead insisting on producing an unexpired green card. “The INA’s anti-discrimination provision
protects all authorized workers from unfair documentary requests during the Form I-9 process,” said
Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.