Click on a question below to see the answer; click on the question a second time to hide the answer.
Who needs to complete an I-9 form?
Every new hire and some rehires are required to complete an I-9 form to prove identity and eligibility to legally work in the United States. Any nonimmigrant foreign national employee whose work authorization is updated, extended, amended, or changed must also complete a new I-9 form when any of these changes happen. Student hires who are paid employees of NC State University are also required to complete the I-9 process.
When must the I-9 process be completed?
The employee must complete Section 1 of the I-9 form ON or BEFORE the first day of work. A licensed I-9 user must complete Section 2 of the I-9 form with the employee within three days after the date of hire. A hire date is the day that the employee actually begins to work and perform services for the university.
How do I complete an I-9 form with a new employee?
NC State University utilizes an online, electronic I-9 system by LawLogix for the completion of all I-9 forms for the University. Only employees with individual user licenses may access the I-9 Guardian system and complete the I-9 and E-Verify processes. College/Division Human Resources or Business Officers designate users for their units. If a new employee comes to you to complete an I-9 form and you are not a licensed user of the I-9 Guardian system, please contact your College/Division Human Resources representative for assistance. For a list of I-9 Users across campus, please view the Users List. If you are a licensed user of the I-9 Guardian system, you can log into the online system to complete the I-9 form electronically with the new employee. The Guardian System can be accessed from anywhere by visiting the website.
Can an I-9 form be completed before the new employee actually begins to work?
Yes, the I-9 form may be completed before the hire date, but only after an offer has been made and accepted and a start date has been confirmed by the hiring unit.
What happens if I notice an I-9 is not complete or is completely missing?
If an I-9 user realizes that an I-9 form is missing or incomplete for a new employee (and/or even if the employee fails to complete Section 1 of the form on or before the start date), you should still complete the I-9 form with the new employee as quickly as possible using the I-9 Guardian system.
Do volunteers on campus need to complete I-9 forms?
No, only university employees who are paid through our payroll system for performing work on behalf of the university need to complete an I-9 form.
How does the new employee know what documents to present to prove identity and ability to work in the United States?
The federal government has created a “List of Acceptable Documents” for I-9 purposes.
What happens when a new employee does not present the required identity and employment eligibility documents within three days after the hire date?
The employee must provide the required documentation to prove identity and employment eligibility within three days after the hire date. If the employee does not, the employee must be terminated immediately upon the end of the third day of work after the hire date. The only exception is when the employee presents a replacement receipt for a lost, stolen or mutilated document which shows that he/she has applied for a replacement. In this case, the employee has 90 days in which to present the new original document. If the employee cannot produce the new original document after 90 days, then the employee must be terminated. This “replacement receipt rule” does NOT apply to foreign nationals who have applied for an extension of their current status or a new status.
Can I tell the employee which documents to bring to complete the I-9 form?
No, you may NOT tell the employee to bring specific documents, such as a driver’s license, NC State ID card, Social Security Card, etc. You must accept any original documents presented that reasonably appear to be genuine, relate to the person, and are an acceptable combination found on the government’s List of Acceptable Documents. (Please see answer #7 for a link to that list.) Although a Social Security Number needs to be provided in Section 1 of the I-9 form (for those employees who have one), this does not mean that the employee is required to present a Social Security Card in Section 2. The employee chooses what document or combination of documents he/she wants to provide for Section 2 purposes, as long as it meets the criteria of properly proving identity and ability to legally work in the United States. Please note that the E-Verify program requires that a List B document to contain a photo.
Does the employee have to show me the documents in-person or can someone else (parents, friends) show the documents to HR on the new employee’s behalf?
The employee is required to show you the Section 2 documents in-person. Federal law does not permit someone else to produce documents on behalf of another person, since part of this process involves reviewing the documents presented and comparing them directly to the new employee to verify not only that they are genuine, but that they also reasonably appear to relate to the person presenting them to you.
May I accept an expired document?
No, you cannot accept any document that has expired, and this includes an expired U.S. passport (or passport card). ALL documents presented that have an expiration date on them MUST be valid on the day they are being presented to you for completion of Section 2.
May I accept a photocopy, faxed copy, or emailed copy of a document presented by the employee?
No, only original documents may be accepted for I-9 purposes. The only exception to this rule is a U.S. birth certificate – you may accept a certified copy of a government-issued birth certificate (private hospital certificates are not acceptable). This is the only document that does not have to be an original, but only a certified copy (with a raised seal and/or multi-color stamp) is acceptable. A “regular” color or black-and-white photocopy is NEVER acceptable for any document.
If a foreign national or a nationalized U.S. citizen, has a one-word legal name (the person does not have both a “first” name and a “last” name), how do you enter it into the I-9 Guardian system?
When the employee only has one legal name, he/she should enter the one legal name into the appropriate box on the electronic I-9 form and either “FNU” (First Name Unknown) or “LNU” (Last Name Unknown) into the appropriate box.
What if the new employee does not yet have a valid Social Security Number?
If the new employee does not have a valid Social Security Number (which commonly happens with new foreign national employees), you still must complete an electronic I-9 form with that employee in the I-9 Guardian system within three days after the hire date. In Section 1 of the I-9 form, the employee will enter the letter “T” in the Social Security Number box. This will create a temporary number as a place holder until the employee receives his/her Social Security Card. (The employee should NOT create a temporary or fake number, the system will do this for the employee.) Once the new Social Security Number is available, the electronic I-9 form must be amended with the new Social Security Number. You will then need to submit the amended I-9 to E-Verify by following the tutorial “Adding (Amending) SSNs to an I-9.”
What do I do if the employee’s Social Security Card says “Not Valid for Employment” or “Valid for Work only with DHS/INS Authorization” on it?
You cannot accept a Social Security Card that says “Not Valid for Employment”, “Valid for Work only with DHS Authorization Only”, or “Valid for Work only with INS Authorization Only” as a List C document. The employee will need to choose another List C document, and if he/she does not have one, then he/she will need to review the List of Acceptable Documents again.
Is the Social Security Card acceptable if it is laminated?
If the card is laminated, and on the back of the card in the upper left corner it says “Invalid if laminated,” then we cannot accept that Social Security Card. If the card is laminated and it says nothing about lamination on the back, or if it says “Do Not Laminate” on the back, we can accept it for I-9 purposes.
Should I make copies of the documents the employee presents for completion of Section 2?
Generally, the ONLY documents that should be copied and scanned into your computer (to be electronically attached to the I-9 form in the I-9 Guardian system) are a U.S. passport or U.S. Passport Card, a Permanent Resident Card, and an Employment Authorization Card (commonly called an EAD). No other documents should be copied or attached electronically to the electronic I-9 form. The only reason these specific documents are copied and attached is because the E-Verify system requires it as part of its “photo matching” tool.
(Occasionally, there might be a reason that we need to attach receipt notices in unique situations, although that should only be done after consulting with International Employment first.) See the tutorial for uploading documents.
Should I keep a copy of the I-9 form?
Do not keep copies. All of our I-9s are kept electronically in the web-based I-9 Guardian system. Because these forms can be accessed electronically at any time, there is no need for you to print out I-9 forms. Any requests by anyone for copies of the I-9 form must be directed to International Employment.
Do I need to complete a new I-9 form when a temporary employee becomes permanent, when a part-time employee changes to full-time (or vice versa), or when an employee changes departments on campus, etc.?
Whenever you are made aware of a rehire or job change in an employee, it is always helpful to search the I-9 system to ensure there is an I-9 on file, and the employee was not previously overlooked. If there is a termination action and a rehire action approved for this employee, then we must also view the documents in Section 2 to determine if an I-9 is needed. If the documents in Section 2 are expired, then a new I-9 is needed. For foreign nationals, if the documents in Section 2 are expired, OR if they have changed (if the end dates are not exactly the same, or if his/her status has changed), then a new I-9 is needed. This will involve the I-9 User actively checking with the foreign national to ensure the dates are the same.
What happens when a foreign national employee changes or extends his/her nonimmigrant status and work authorization?
Whenever a foreign national employee changes or extends status and work authorization, a new I-9 form must be completed in the I-9 Guardian system. Any time a foreign national employee receives a new or updated immigration status document (such as a new or amended F-1, I-20 form, J-1, DS-2019 form, H-1B approval notice, Employment Authorization Document, etc.), a new I-9 form must also be completed once the new document is received. Any change in the foreign national’s work authorization expiration date automatically means that you need to do a new (updated) I-9 form to reflect the new employment authorization expiration date. Do not amend the past I-9, always create a new I-9.
How does a new employee who is hired to work outside of North Carolina complete an I-9 form for us?
Our electronic system provides a way that the University can allow a person in another state or city to act as our “Remote Agent”. Through the “Remote Agent” process, we can allow one-time limited access to our I-9 Guardian system to a person whom we have identified to act on our behalf. We cannot use the Minute I-9 process for this procedure, so please contact International Employment for our assistance in setting up this special process. We will need to have the name and email address of this “agent” before we can set up his/her access. Please see instructions on the I-9 Process for a Remote Hire for further information.
Do I need to do an I-9 form for an independent contractor?
No, NC State University is not required to do an I-9 form for an independent contractor.
Do I need an I-9 form for a “no pay” employee?
No; however, if a department or unit wishes to later make a payment to a “no pay” employee, that unit will need to terminate the “no pay” assignment and re-hire the person as a paid employee. At that time, an I-9 form will need to be completed with that employee. Flat rate employees must also complete an I-9 form.
