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FAQs About I-9 Employment Verification

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Can I accept an expired document for Form I-9?

No. Expired documents are not accept­able for Form I-9. However, employers may accept Employment Authorization Documents (Forms I-766) and Permanent Resident Cards (Forms I-551) that appear to be expired on their face, but have been extended by USCIS.

Do I need to collect I-9 information in order to add new hires to payroll?

Yes! In order to remain compliant with Federal regulations, employers must collect I-9 documentation before adding a new hire to payroll.

For the above compliance reasons, you may choose the new hires to provide I-9 documentation during onboarding directly in Zenefits.

Do I need to verify employment eligibility for a rehire?

If you rehire a former worker within 3 years of the date they completed their previous I-9, there's no need to request a new Form I-9 when:

  • they are  a US citizen or have a valid Permanent Resident card, or
  • they have a temporary work authorization document, e.g., work visa, that is still valid.

If so, make sure to uncheck the Eligibility and Collect Eligibility options under Additional Information when rehiring.

Once the individual has onboarding, if their prior Form I-9 was completed in Zenefits, go to Documents > Employment Eligibility > and click on “Reverify”. If not, upload the previously completed Form I-9 into the Documents section of their profile.

If more than 3 years have passed since the date they completed their previous I-9, or if their work authorization document has expired, a new Form I-9 is required.

Does Zenefits use E-Verify?

Zenefits does not currently sync with E-Verify, the third party employment eligibility verification provider.

All staff are able to upload their employment eligibility documentation into the Zenefits system for the administrator to verify within three days of their start date. This allows the employer to keep record of the worker and maintain the proper documentation. However, employers can continue to use E-Verify to suit their company's policies if they so desire.

How long should I hold on to I-9s?

I-9 Forms must be stored for three years after the date of hire, or one year after the employment ends, whichever is later. For example, if someone retires from the company after 15 years, retain their I-9 form for one more year (for a total of 16 years).

How do I upload a completed form I-9?

You can upload a completed Form I-9 for current workers, or workers rehired within 3 years of the date they completed the original I-9, as long as the worker's eligibility document has not expired.

Upload Current Worker's Completed Form I-9

  1. Log in to Zenefits.

  2. In the Workers section of the admin dashboard, click on the person whose I-9 you want to upload. Or click the Directory app and select from the list.

  3. Click on Documents on the left side of the page.

  4. Place your pointer over the status in the I-9 row.

  5. Click Upload in pop up.

Should I re-request an I-9 for a change in employment status?

No. There's no need to request a new I-9 when a status is moved from full-time to part-time, or vice versa.

What are list A, B or C documents?

USCIS divides valid employment eligibility documents into three categories.

  • List A documents establish both identity and authorization to work.
  • List B documents establish only identity.
  • List C documents establish only authorization to work.

You can view acceptable documents in all three lists here.

When do I need to reverify an I-9?

Eligibility for workers with temporary authorizations (e.g., work visa) must be reverified no later than the date of expiration of the current employment eligibility documentation.

  • Reverification is not required for US Citizens, but may be required for permanent citizens who provided temporary authorizations.
  • Zenefits will notify a manager or administrator 90 days before this expiration date.
  • Here are the steps for reverifying a worker's eligibility in Zenefits.
Who can verify I-9 documents in Zenefits?

Any administrator with sufficient permissions (e.g., can view sensitive information for particular workers) will receive an email notification when the employer's side of a new hire's I-9 is ready for verification. Managers who have been granted the authority to verify I-9s will be notified and able to view and verify  I-9s. Please see Customizing Restricted Information for Managers for more information.

How do I request additional eligibility documents?

Per USCIS regulations, employers must accept documents that reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the person presenting them. However, if your new hire provides a document that does not reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to them, you must reject that document and ask for other documents that satisfy the requirements of Form I-9. You may request the additional eligibility documents during their onboarding by following the steps below:

1. In the Workers section of the admin dashboard, click on the person who you want to request additional documents from, or click the Directory app and choose from the list of workers.

2. Click on Documents on the left side of the page.

3. In the I-9 section, place your pointer over the Requires Action banner and click on Verify.

4. Select "No, we need to make some changes." to the question "Is the above accurate and are all verification documents acceptable?"

5. Enter a description of what documents are needed and click Send.

 

New hires will receive an email notification with a link to upload the documents. The worker will also be able to open the Personal Information app and select the Work Eligibility& I-9 section to upload the additional documents. Once they complete the request, the verification can be completed.

Note: If a correction has been requested, the banner will say In Progress. Hovering over the banner will display a message that says "You requested that [Worker Name] make corrections to their I-9 in Zenefits." A correction request cannot be canceled once it has been requested. The worker will have to upload a document to allow the administrator or manager to complete the verification.

Can I complete a Form I-9 with a TN visa?

Yes, I-9 forms can be completed with a TN visa. This requires the individual in TN status to select the An alien authorized to work option, and write down the admission number and expiration date of their I-94, or I-94A, status.

To complete the process, the worker will need to provide an unexpired non-US passport, along with their unexpired Form I-94, or a combination of one document each from the List B and List C categories.

To see which documents are considered acceptable under List B and List C, see the Form I-9. For more information about how workers on TN visas can satisfy their I-9 requirements, see the following US Citizenship and Immigration Services page.

Can I view the status of a new hire's I-9?

Yes! View the status of a new hire's  I-9  by clicking on their profile, then selecting Work Eligibility & I-9. 

There are three statuses that the I-9 will appear in:

  • Has not started (e.g. has not declared any immigration status)
  • Entered personal information and uploaded document, but now it is awaiting admin/manager verification
  • Admin has reviewed and validated the  I-9 form and documents. Admin has also signed. 

Once the verification is complete, you will be able to view the I-9 document and see who verified it. 

Can I upload eligibility documents for an employee?

Administrators can upload eligibility documents from the verification page. After selecting the option to Verify, the administrator can follow these steps:

 

  • Select "No, we need to make some changes." to the questions "Is the above accurate and are all verification documents acceptable?"
  • Click the link in the sentence stating "If you would like to make changes to the uploaded eligibility documents, please click here."

The administrator will then be able to remove or upload any additional documents. Once the correct documents have been uploaded, the verification can be completed.

I-9 Updates

March 19, 2020:

  • All new I-9 forms generated in Zenefits will be using the new version of the form. You can tell the form is the new version by the 2022 expiration date. 

 

January 31, 2020:

  • The USCIS  has released a new version of the I-9 to be used by May 1, 2020. For additional information, see here.

 

As of September 8, 2017:
  • We will add the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) to List C. Employers completing Form I-9 on a computer will be able to select Form FS-240 from the drop-down menus available in List C of Section 2 and Section 3. E-Verify users will also be able to select Form FS-240 when creating a case for a worker who has presented this document for Form I-9.
  • We will combine all the certifications of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350 and Form FS-240) into selection C#2 in List C.
  • We will renumber all List C documents except the Social Security card. For example, the employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security on List C will change from List C #8 to List C #7. 

The USCIS website has further information. For your convenience, there is a blank version of the new I-9 form here. 

 

Storage and retention requirements have not changed, so continue to use the existing rules here. You also will not need to complete Section 3 (reverification) using the new form.

Updates Zenefits is making to the I-9 instructions:

  • We will change the name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
  • We will remove “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment".

For more information, you may visit the USCIS website. 

When an I-9 expires, do I need to complete Section 3 (reverification) using the new form?

No. You can continue using the initial form for re-verification purposes.

 

 
How can I get rid of the I-9 banner?

If you are being prompted to complete I-9 verification through Zenefits, but have already done this outside of the system, you can follow these steps to dismiss the notification:

  1. Go to the profile of the person for whom you're receiving the I-9 verification prompt.
  2. Click the Complete I-9 link in the banner at the top of the page.
  3. Click the Have you already completed their Form I-9? link under the Section 1 heading.
  4. Confirm that you've already completed the I-9.

The banner and I-9 verification prompt will then be removed from the worker's profile.

 

If you are being prompted to reverify an I-9 and the work authorization has been extended (if you filed a Form I-129 on time for example), you can extend Zenefits’ recorded work authorization expiration date by doing the following:

  1. Go to the profile of the person for whom you're receiving the I-9 reverification prompt.
  2. Click the Extend Authorization action in the Form I-9 box.
  3. If the employment authorization has been extended click the Extended radio button.
  4. Enter in the new authorization’s expiration date. 

If you want to document in a Form I-9’ s Section 2 "Additional Information" field that the work authorization has been extended:

  1. Update the Additional Info field with what should appear in Section 2’s “Additional Information” box on the corrected Form I-9 PDF.
  2. Fill out the Documentation of Modification fields in Section 2. This information will be appended to the corrected Form I-9 PDF that has these latest changes.
  3. Click Save.

Admins will be reminded to reverify 90, 60, 30, and 7 days prior to the new extension date.

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