Verifying New Employees on Form I-9
Newly hired employees must complete Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, regardless of whether they are assigned to a federal contract. Employers must comply with Form I-9 procedures found in the M-274 Handbook for Employers, Guidance for Completing Form I-9. E-Verify employers also have additional employment verification requirements for Form I-9 that other employers do not have:
- If an employee chooses to present a List B document, the employer may only accept a List B document that contains a photo (if the employee cannot provide such a document because of religious objections, contact the E-Verify Contact Center at 888-464-4218).
- If an employee chooses to present an Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766), Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551) or U.S. Passport or Passport Card, the employer must make a copy of the document and retain it with the employee’s Form I-9.
- Employees must have a Social Security number (SSN) to be verified using E-Verify. If an employee has applied for but has not yet received his or her Social Security number (i.e., if he or she is a newly arrived immigrant), make a note on the employee’s Form I-9 and set it aside. The employee should be allowed to continue to work. As soon as the Social Security number is available, the employer can create a case in E-Verify using the employee’s Social Security number.
Verify Existing Employees Using Form I-9
In order to comply with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule, a federal contractor must verify all new hires and existing employees assigned to the federal contract. Federal contractors may also opt to verify their entire workforce with E-Verify. When the employer chooses this option, the employer must decide how to verify its employees by completing three steps.
Step 1: Decide which employees the employer wants to verify.
Step 2: Determine which existing employees are exempt or have special requirements relating to the verification process.
Step 3: Complete new Forms I-9 or update existing Forms I-9
