All new U.S. employees, including both U.S. citizens and non-citizens, must fill out a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, prior to the date of hire. Form I-9 requires an individual to prove his or her identity and authorization for employment when accepting a job with a new employer, and assists the U.S. government in precluding the unlawful hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee, of aliens not authorized to work in the United States.

On Form I-9, the employer must examine the employment eligibility and identity document(s) that the employee presents to determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine. Once the employer determines that the documents are genuine, the employer must then make sure that Form I-9 is properly completed before the individual begins employment. After an employee completes Form I-9, the employer must retain a copy of Form I-9 for each individual it hires for employment in the United States for certain amount of time.

In this article, we’ll go over the background information and document(s) required to fill out Form I-9, as well as some frequently asked questions about Form I-9.

Next, we’ll go over the required information and documents you’ll need to properly fill out Form I-9.