I-9 & E-Verify

The Form I-9 is a document from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security required for all employers in the U.S. This form verifies an individual’s eligibility for employment. Every new employee hired must complete an I-9 within the first three days of starting employment.

When a Form I-9 is completed by the applicant, the E-Verify database is used to confirm that the information is accurate. E-Verify is an internet-based program that compares information on an employee’s Employment Eligibility Verification form to data from citizenship and immigration services, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility.

Failure to complete a Form I-9 for your new employees could result in:

• Civil fines and/or criminal penalties (when there is a practice of violating this law)
• Company ban from United States Federal Government contracts
• Court ordered back pay against individuals discriminated against
• Court ordered requirement to hire individuals discriminated against

Both the applicant and the employer are required to fill out different sections of an I-9 form.Once the applicant is hired, they will be asked to complete the following steps for their portion of Form I-9:

• The employee must formally give employment authorization.
• You may not request the employee use certain documentation for the I-9.
• Present documents evidencing identity (acceptable forms of ID are listed on the last page of Form I-9. The applicant may choose and provide one form of identification from ‘List A’ or two from ‘List B’).
• Fill out applicable information for the employee on the form.
• You cannot re-verify employment authorization unless you rehire an employee. If you rehire an employee (after the Memorandum of Understanding is signed) they must be screened again under the program. Employers must complete the re-verification section (Section 3, now in Supplement B) with updated documentation if the employee’s employment authorization has expired. Employers may complete Section 3 if the employee is rehired within 3 years of the date that the Form I-9 was completed or the employee has a legal name change.

(NOTE:  All employees in the US fill out Form I-9 during onboarding, but only some use E-Verify.)

Things to Consider When Administering E-Verify

• This verification process must be performed for every new hire, it is not selective.
• You cannot use this verification to discriminate against an applicant on the grounds of national origin, citizenship, or immigration status.
• The verification must be performed no later than three days post-hire.
• You cannot screen applicants who were hired before the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed.
• An applicant must be given the opportunity to contest a tentative non-confirmation.
• You cannot take adverse action against an employee until the final non-confirmation.

DISA offers Employment Eligibility Verification as part of our product services. The following is how DISA conducts the employment eligibility verification process.

1. Both the applicant and employer must complete and fill out Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification from the Department of Homeland Security.
   
   
2. The employer needs to place an order inside our proprietary online platform so DISA can access E-Verify to confirm Form I-9 information.
   
   
3. The employer must provide both the Form I-9 with Sections 1 & 2 completed along with the applicant’s documents from ‘List A’ or ‘List B & C’ for the search to be completed.
   
   
4. E-Verify will process the submitted case data electronically.
   
   
5. E-Verify will create a case result within seconds, with the exception that some cases may require additional action.
   1. (For data that cannot be verified, the applicant may be directed to the Social Security Administration or the Department of Homeland Security).

You can find a sample of Form I-9 here.