Form I-9 Training and Compliance

In order to remain in compliance with the Immigration Reform & Control Act of 1986, as amended, all IC employees must complete the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification on or in advance of their first day of employment at IC.

The Immigration Reform & Control Act of 1986

The Immigration Reform & Control Act became law on November 6, 1986. The law is two-fold: establishing verification parameters to review the US work-eligibility of all prospective employees and to ensure that only individuals who are legally authorized to work are hired. The Act also provides anti-discrimination provisions, ensuring that individuals are not prohibited from working based on citizenship, immigration status, or national origin.

To comply with the law, employers must:

  • Verify the identity and employment authorization of each person they hire;
  • Complete and retain a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, for each employee; and
  • Refrain from discriminating against individuals on the basis of national origin or citizenship.

For student employees, Ithaca College will retain the Form I-9 for the duration of their time at the college. For students who move from undergraduate to graduate status the Form I-9 completed as an undergraduate will be valid so long as the student did not take longer than a one (1) semester gap between undergraduate and graduate programs. This does NOT apply to students who completed an undergraduate program at another college or university.

Form I-9 Frequently Asked Questions

The Immigration Reform and control Act of 1986, as amended, stipulates that Ithaca College:

  • Ensure completion of Section 1 by the student
  • Review and verify approved documents, as articulated on the List of Acceptable Documents, provided by the Department of Homeland Security, without specifying the review of specific documents.
  • Ensure completion of Section 2 by the college’s I-9 Representative (student supervisor or HR personnel)
  • Retain Forms I-9 for a period of three (3) years from the employee’s start date, or no less than one (1) year from the employee’s termination.
  • As requested, provide Forms I-9 documents to authorized federal agents, including DHS, USCIS, and OSC, for inspection.
  • All student employees receiving pay in exchange for services provided will need to complete the Form I-9. This includes all campus student employees (FWS-eligible or not); graduate assistantship students; off-campus Work Study students.
  • All employees are expected to complete Section 1 of the Form I-9 no later than their date of hire.
  • Likewise, employer representative review of Section 2 must be completed with three (3) business days from the date of hire. In order for this section to be complete, the employee must present original, unexpired documents.
  • IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STUDENT SUPERVISOR TO CONFIRM FORM I-9 COMPLETION AND RETENTION WITH THE OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES PRIOR TO SCHEDULING THE STUDENT’S FIRST WORK SHIFT.

Once the student accepts the job offer in the IC HR Cloud, the HR Recruiter provides the candidate with the appropriate instructions for the completion of the Form I-9, if they have never held a student employment position. If the student has already held a student employment position on campus (excluding non-Student Employment-eligible Student Employment positions) then they do not need to complete an additional Form I-9 in advance of their start date.

The candidate will be expected to complete Form I-9 review and verification, in accordance with USCIS guidelines and provide all necessary documentation to HR prior to the generation of their work assignment. For new student employees, the hire date and assignment start date must correspond with the date indicated on the Form I-9.

If your student employee has accepted the electronic offer and has not received guidance regarding Form I-9 completion, please contact your HR Business Partner or Student Employment for guidance.

It is the responsibility of all student employment patrons to ensure Form I-9 compliance. Student supervisors should NOT schedule their student employees to work without confirmation that the Form I-9 has been completed and employment eligibility has been established.

Form I-9 Review/Verification Process for IC Student Employees

HR, student supervisors, and student employees all play a role in maintaining accurate employment data at IC. Please follow the below steps to ensure that Form I-9 requirements are met in advance of the student employee's first day of work.

Student employees must complete Section 1 of the Form I-9 at the time of hire (by the first day the employee starts work for pay) by entering the correct information and signing and dating the form. If the employee enters the information by hand, ensure the employee prints their information clearly.

A preparer and/or translator may help the employee complete Section 1. You are responsible for reviewing the information and ensuring employees (and their preparer/translators, if applicable) fully and properly completed Section 1.

Once Section 1 is completed, the employee should submit Section 1 through the Formstack link and nominate their I-9 Representative. An email will be prompted to the I-9 Representative with instructions for Section 2 completion and document review.

The Student supervisor completes Section 2 of the Form I-9 on behalf of IC. Additionally, students can present to the HR Reception Desk to complete Section 2 with an HR Representative. It is the responsibility of the Student Supervisor to ensure that Section 2 of the Form I-9 is appropriately completed.

Within three (3) business days of the employee’s start date, the I-9 Representative (student supervisor or HR Personnel) and student employee should meet to verify documents for Section 2.

The I-9 Representative should consult the List of Acceptable Documents, ensuring that the documents are original (not photocopies), unexpired, and ensuring that the student is able to choose which documents to use.

The employee can present a List A document or must present a List B and List C. (You cannot tell employees which documents to present.)

Acceptable Documents for Section 2 Verification

See here: 12.0 Acceptable Documents for Verifying Employment Authorization and Identity | USCIS

You must accept any document(s) from the Lists of Acceptable Documents that reasonably appear to be genuine and to relate to the person presenting them. You may terminate an employee who fails to present an acceptable document or documents (or an acceptable receipt for a document) within three (3) business days of the date employment begins. If you fail to properly complete Form I-9, you risk violating section 274A of the INA and are subject to civil money penalties.

Enter the document title, issuing authority, document number, and expiration date (if any) in Section 2 using information from the original documents the employee presented. If you choose to make copies of the documents, you must do so for all employees, regardless of national origin or citizenship status, or you may violate anti-discrimination laws. However, if you participate in E-Verify and the employee presents a U.S. passport, passport card, Permanent Resident Card (also called a Green Card) or Employment Authorization Card, you must retain a copy of it with Form I-9. Return the original documents to your employee. The same person who examined the employee’s documents must also complete the fields in the certification block, then sign and date Section 2.

If an employee undergoes a name change, HR/Student Employment will re-verify Section 3 of the Form I-9. Please reach out to your HR Business Partner, as necessary.

FOR SECURITY REASONS, DO NOT SUBMIT FORM I-9 MATERIALS VIA EMAIL. PLEASE USE THE FORMSTACK LINKS BELOW:

If the I-9 is not completed in person with an HR Representative, the supervisor should submit Section 1 of the Form I-9 here (an email will be generated to the I-9 Representative with the second link and instructions for verifying Section 2): https://ithacaedu.formstack.com/forms/form_i_9

The I-9 Representative should submit Section 2 and applicable documents here: https://ithacaedu.formstack.com/forms/i9_document_verification

Form I-9 Compliance Resources

Please follow the processes outlined below for correcting errors on the Form I-9 and for other important notices. If you have questions, please contact your HRBP.

If you (the employer, recruiter, or referrer for a fee) discover an error or missing information in Section 1 of an employee’s Form I-9, you should ask the employee to correct the error or add the missing information.  Only employees may correct errors or omissions made in Section 1.

Have the employee:

  • Draw a line through the incorrect information;
  • Enter the correct or missing information; and
  • Initial and date the correction.

You should attach a written explanation of why information was missing or needed correcting. If the employee’s employment has ended, attach to the existing form a signed and dated statement identifying the error or omission and explain why corrections could not be made, for example, the employee no longer works for you.

Employers may only make corrections in Section 2 or 3.

If you discover an error or missing information, you should:

  • Draw a line through incorrect information;
  • Enter the correct or missing information; and
  • Initial and date the correction or missing information.

You should attach a written explanation of why information was missing or needed correcting. If you failed to enter the date you completed Section 2 and/or 3, you should not back date the form. Instead, enter the current date and initial by the date field.

To correct multiple errors in one section, you may redo the section on a new Form I-9 and attach it to the old form. You can also complete a new Form I-9 if it contains major errors (such as entire sections that were left blank or you completed Section 2 based on unacceptable documents). You should attach a written explanation to the employee’s Form I-9 describing why you made changes to an existing Form I-9 or why you created a new Form I-9.

If you make any changes on the form, do NOT conceal them by, for example, erasing text or using correction fluid. Doing so may lead to increased liability under federal immigration law. If you made these types of changes, we recommend you attach to the Form I-9 a signed and dated written explanation for the changes.

If you use an electronic Form I-9, your audit trail should reflect all corrections and additions made to Sections 1, 2, or 3.

Helpful Links

•13.0 Some Questions You May Have About Form I-9 | USCIS

•USCIS Form I-9 Instructions

•USCIS Form I-9