I-9's

DBunger · March 2003

I am in the process of going through our I-9's and have found quite a few that have items from List B listed under List A along with some that are not even signed by an authorized respresentative. Should I redo these? I thought I had read somewhere that if they are not filled out correctly (in all aspects) it could come back to haunt us. Any suggestions?

Leslie · March 2003

The ones unsigned, yes. The ones that have A and B mixed up - as long as you have the legal copies of id attached - are okay.

DBunger · March 2003

Thanks. However, it doesn't seem as though photocopies were made and attached to the forms. Would you suggest making copies? I just read that it is not required but if you do- you should do it for all. Which I believe was the problem that they had run into. Many of the supervisors weren't making the copies, so it was better to be consistent. I've thought of changing this and just really crack down on them. ????

Leslie · March 2003

How many are we talking about here? If it's too many to do consistently with copies, re-do the mixed up ones with the unsigned ones - that way you know someone has actually looked at the ID. If you have folks just checking ID and filling I9s in the field, this is probably the easiest case scenario.

We consistently make copies and attach because it's just easier if you are audited. I'm in a border state to Mexico, and work in an environment where we have a melting pot employee population (casino) so we're talking about more than 200 resident alien scenarios. We're probably more diligent than most.

System · March 2003

I have a lot of suggestions for you. We had to redo just about every I-9 for our company last year, and it was pretty rough, but we've had our baptism by fire and know how to do them now.
For the incorrectly entered items: all you need to do is cross through the info listed in List A incorrectly - mark through each error with a single line and put your initials there. Then write the information in the correct column. The ones that are not signed are a bit trickier. I would not sign it unless I saw the ID personally. I would recommend redoing those. These errors can come back to haunt you and will be accompanied by a load of fines! Using any kind of white-out is a big INS no-no. If you need more info email me at [email]lcdavid77@yahoo.com[/email] - I'd be glad to help. Good luck!

windjam · March 2003

I would be cautious about attaching photocopies to your I9s. We had an immigration attorney tell us it is better to not have the copies. His reasoning was that if you have copies and INS can determine by looking at the documents that they are not genuine, you have given them "evidence" for fines. By not having the copies, you can claim good faith.
Our current policy is that we make the copies and file them in their personnel file as we need the information for other required reporting.

I-9's

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