I-9 and E-Verify: The Compliance Basics Every Employer Needs
Every US employer must complete Form I-9 for every new hire, regardless of the employee's citizenship or immigration status. It is one of the most heavily enforced pieces of employment paperwork there is, and violations are assessed per form — which is how a small administrative habit becomes a large number.
For a related Monitask resource on employee time clocks, see here.
General information, not legal advice. I-9 and immigration compliance questions should go to counsel.
Which edition to use
Two editions are currently valid: edition 01/20/2025, valid through 05/31/2027 and the one to use for new hires, and edition 08/01/2023, still accepted only where it shows the 05/31/2027 expiration date.
The earlier printing of the 08/01/2023 edition showing 07/31/2026 is no longer accepted after July 31, 2026.
Check the expiration date printed in the upper-right corner before completing any new I-9. Two forms with the same edition date can have different expirations, which is the confusing part.
Forms already completed on an earlier edition remain valid and do not need to be redone. The rule applies to forms you complete going forward.
The electronic system deadline has passed
If you use an electronic I-9 system, this needs checking today rather than at your next review.
Employers using an electronic version of Form I-9 were required to update their systems to the version showing the 05/31/2027 expiration date by July 31, 2026.
A vendor describing itself as "compliant" is not the same as it serving the current form — confirm what your system actually generates. Failure to update by the deadline results in paperwork violations during an audit.
Generate a test form and look at the dates on it. That is a five-minute check and it is worth doing now.
Completion deadlines
Section 1 — the employee. Completed no later than the first day of employment, meaning the day they start work for pay. The employee gives their name, address, date of birth, and attests to their citizenship or work-authorised status. A preparer or translator may assist, and completes the relevant supplement if they do.
Section 2 — the employer. Within three business days of the first day of employment. You examine original documents from the Lists of Acceptable Documents and record them.
Section 3 / Supplement B — for reverification and rehires.
Common mistakes: completing Section 1 before an offer is accepted, missing the three-day window, and leaving fields blank.
Documents
The employee chooses which documents to present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents — either one from List A, or one each from Lists B and C.
You may not specify which documents to provide. Requesting particular documents, or more than required, is document abuse and is separately actionable regardless of intent. It is one of the most common findings in enforcement actions, and it usually comes from an employee trying to be helpful.
Examine originals, not copies, unless you qualify for the remote alternative procedure below.
Copying documents is optional but must be applied consistently — either for everyone or for nobody.
Remote verification
The DHS alternative procedure for remote document examination remains available in 2026 to eligible employers who participate in E-Verify and maintain active participation.
If you are not an E-Verify participant in good standing, you examine documents physically. An authorised representative may act for you — but you remain liable for their errors, so choose carefully and give them written instructions.
E-Verify
An electronic check of I-9 information against government records. Voluntary for most employers, mandatory for some — federal contractors with the relevant clause, and employers in a number of states that require it. Check your state.
Two current points:
Since April 3, 2025 the citizenship status selection during case creation reads "An alien authorized to work" rather than "A noncitizen authorized to work." Employers using E-Verify select the new wording even where the employee checked the older wording on an earlier form edition. Train whoever creates cases, because the mismatch looks like an error and is not.
E-Verify's Status Change Report identifies employees whose Employment Authorization Document has since been revoked, which places an ongoing monitoring responsibility on participating employers.
If you enrol, you must run cases for all new hires at the participating site — not selectively — and you may not use it to pre-screen applicants before hire.
Retention
Keep I-9s for three years after the date of hire, or one year after employment ends, whichever is later.
Store them separately from personnel files. This matters practically: an audit request should be answerable by producing I-9s alone, without handing over unrelated employee records.
Purge on schedule. Forms kept beyond the retention period are still auditable and can only generate findings.
Enforcement
Enforcement has become more aggressive, and penalties are assessed per form — exposure can reach six figures for an employer with outdated processes. The current focus is on audit readiness and documentation integrity, with electronic audit trails, timestamps, logs and secure recordkeeping under increased scrutiny.
A Notice of Inspection typically gives three business days to produce forms. That is not enough time to fix anything, which is the point of the deadline.
A practical audit
Once a year, and now if you have not done it recently:
- [ ] Confirm which form edition your process and system generate
- [ ] Confirm electronic systems were updated by the July 31, 2026 deadline
- [ ] Every current employee has an I-9 on file
- [ ] Sections completed within the deadlines
- [ ] No blank required fields
- [ ] No over-documentation — extra documents recorded beyond what was needed
- [ ] Reverifications completed where required
- [ ] I-9s stored separately from personnel files
- [ ] Forms past retention purged
- [ ] Whoever completes them has been trained this year
Correcting errors: draw a line through the incorrect entry, enter the correction, initial and date it. Do not use correction fluid, do not backdate, and do not create a fresh form as though the original never existed. A visible, dated correction is defensible; a concealed one is not.
PJP employs contract workers as W-2 employees of ours and handles I-9 verification as part of that. Contract staffing → For broader reference, consult USCIS Form I-9 guidance.