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I-9 Verification

Reference Number: MTAS-2012
Reviewed Date: 12/21/2022

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service publishes handbooks and manuals to help employers comply with the verification rules. The most important is the M-274, Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification Form) (Rev. April 2020). This section summarizes the employer I-9 verification responsibilities as outlined in the handbook. Both the form and the manual have been revised and prior versions can no longer be used after September 18th, 2017.

Current law (8 U.S.C. § 1324(b)) requires all employers in the U.S. to complete an Employer Eligibility Verification form (Form I-9) for each newly hired employee to verify each employee’s identity and eligibility to work. According to the manual, “to comply with the Immigration Reform and Control Act’s I-9 requirements, the verification should be done by an in-person inspection of the original document that shows an employee’s identity and his/her eligibility to work in the United States. A record of the employer’s verification is made and retained on the Form I-9 for each person hired by the organization.”

Employers should see https://www.uscis.gov/i-9 for the form and I-9 Central for the most up-to-date information.