Federal law requires us to employ individuals who may legally work in the United States, either U.S. Citizens or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization.
Two steps for completing the employment eligibility verification process are:
- Complete the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9). The form is on the US Citizenship and Immigration Services web site.
- Verify the employee’s employment status through the E-Verify system.
Section I
- The hiring official should ensure that the employee completed the Form I-9 correctly. Check that the birth date and social security number are correct.
- If the employee leaves a box blank, ask him/her to write in NA (not applicable).
- Employee enters other last names in the appropriate box or writes in NA (not applicable).
- Employee must complete the Form I-9 on or before the hire date. The hiring official should ensure that the employee uses the date that he signed the I-9, not his/her birthdate.
- Dates should be in the following format: mm/dd/yyyy. (Example: 04/13/2014)
- Employee must check the appropriate box indicating whether he/she used or did not use a preparer or translator.
Section II
- The hiring official must complete and sign Section 2 within three (3) business days of the employee’s first day of employment.
- The hiring official enters the employee’s last name, first name and middle initial from Section 1 at the top of Section 2.
- The hiring official enters the citizenship/immigration status from Section 1. Use a numerical number.
- The hiring official enters the employee’s first day of employment in the following format: mm/dd/yyyy. (Example: 04/13/2014)
- The hiring official attests to physically examining the documents provided by signing and dating, as well as completing the entire certification section.
- For each document reviewed, record the document title, issuing authority, document number and expiration date (if any).
- A copy of the List A documents must be attached to the Form I-9.
Please refer to our frequently asked questions for additional information about the Form I-9 and E-Verify process.
Please visit the hiring section of the HR Toolbox for forms and other valuable information for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Form I-9, and E-Verify.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
University of South Carolina