This is a written summary of the I-9 Form YouTube session streamed live on Feb 24, 2025, with immigration attorney Brian Burke
The blog below was updated September 24, 2026, by Sam Shihab, Esq.
Quick answer: The employer bears the primary compliance burden for the I-9 Form, but employees have several important rights and responsibilities of their own. As an employee, you must complete Section 1 no later than your first day of work and provide acceptable documents establishing your identity and authorization to work. Your employer generally completes Section 2 within three business days after you begin work. You choose which acceptable documents to present from the government’s lists, and your employer generally should not tell you which particular one to bring. If your work authorization is temporary, you may later need to participate in reverification.
the I-9 Form Employee Rules at a Glance
- Employee deadline: Complete Section 1 no later than the first day of work.
- Employer deadline: The employer generally completes Section 2 within three business days.
- Document choice: The employee chooses which acceptable documents to present.
- Specific documents: Employers generally should not tell employees which particular acceptable document to provide.
- Reverification: Some temporary employment authorization must later be reverified.
- Government filing: Form I-9 generally stays with the employer rather than being routinely filed with USCIS.
- Retention: Employers generally retain Form I-9 for three years after hire or one year after employment ends, whichever is later.
What Is the I-9 Form, Exactly?
Form I-9 is the employment eligibility verification form that every employer in the United States must complete for every employee. Its purpose is to confirm that the person being hired is authorized to work in the United States. This applies to everyone — U.S. citizens by birth, naturalized citizens, and noncitizens alike. Form I-9 is not about your immigration status directly; it’s about verifying work authorization, which is a related but distinct question.
What Do I Actually Have to Do as an Employee with the I-9 Form?
The employer bears the primary compliance burden, but employees have meaningful responsibilities of their own. You must complete and sign Section 1, truthfully attesting to your citizenship or immigration category, no later than your first day of employment — though it can be completed earlier, once you’ve accepted the job offer. Your employer generally completes Section 2 within three business days after you begin work. You also present acceptable documents establishing your identity and work authorization. If your employment authorization is temporary, you may later need to participate in reverification by presenting acceptable documentation showing your authorization continues.
What Documents Do I Have to Provide to Complete the I-9 Form?
Form I-9 organizes acceptable documents into three lists. List A documents establish both identity and work authorization in a single document (such as a U.S. passport). List B documents establish identity alone, and List C documents establish work authorization alone — if you don’t have a List A document, you provide one from List B and one from List C together. Employees choose which acceptable documents to present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents; employers generally should not specify which particular document the employee must present.
Can My Employer Require a Specific Document, Like a Passport or Green Card?
Generally, no. Employers generally may not demand that an employee present a particular List A, List B, or List C document. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(6), these practices can constitute an unfair documentary practice when done for the purpose or with the intent of discriminating based on citizenship status or national origin.
Does Completing the I-9 Form Guarantee That I Remain Authorized to Work?
No. Form I-9 documents your employer’s employment-eligibility verification at the time it was completed — it does not itself confer immigration status or ongoing employment authorization. Some employees have temporary employment authorization that later expires or otherwise ends. When reverification is required, the employer is responsible for completing it by the applicable expiration date reflected on the form or the underlying document, using USCIS I-9 Central guidance. Form I-9 is a snapshot, not a continuing guarantee.
Who Gets to See My I-9 Form?
Form I-9 is generally retained by your employer rather than routinely submitted to a government agency. DHS, the Department of Labor, or the Department of Justice may require an employer to produce I-9 records during an inspection or investigation — for example, ICE typically provides employers at least three business days’ notice before I-9 records must be produced following a Notice of Inspection.
How Long Are Employers Required to Keep the I-9 Form Records?
Employers must retain a completed Form I-9 for each employee for either three years after the date of hire, or one year after the employee’s employment ends, whichever date is later. This retention obligation belongs to the employer, not the employee.
What Happens If My Employer Handles the I-9 Form Incorrectly?
Errors or noncompliance on Form I-9 generally fall on the employer’s side of the ledger. An employer that fails to properly complete, verify, or retain I-9 records can face government investigation and fines. If you provided honest, genuine documentation and you are, in fact, authorized to work, your employer’s paperwork mistakes generally don’t create a problem for your own immigration status. The exception is if you knowingly provided fraudulent documents — that can create serious problems independent of anything your employer did or didn’t do correctly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use an expired document for Form I-9?
Generally, documents that contain an expiration date must be unexpired when presented. However, a document whose validity has been extended by the issuing authority may be treated as unexpired, and certain acceptable receipts may temporarily be used in place of a listed document.
Can an employer require a Social Security card specifically for Form I-9?
No. A Social Security card is one acceptable List C document among others, and an employer generally cannot require that specific document if you’re able to present a different valid List A document, or a different valid List B and List C combination.
Do green card holders have to be reverified when their green card expires?
Generally, no. Employers should not reverify a lawful permanent resident merely because the Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551) presented for Form I-9 later expires — the underlying permanent resident status does not expire when the physical card does. Different rules can apply when an employee initially presents temporary evidence of permanent resident status, such as a temporary I-551 stamp, because temporary evidence may require later reverification.
Can I choose different documents at reverification than I originally presented?
Yes. When reverification is required, you are not required to present the same document you originally used — you can present any current acceptable List A or List C document.
Do employers have to keep photocopies of the documents I present?
Generally, employers are not required to copy the documents presented for Form I-9, although special copying requirements apply in certain situations, including for E-Verify employers with respect to certain documents such as the green card (Form I-551), employment authorization document (Form I-766), U.S. passport, or U.S. passport card when voluntarily presented.
What happens if my work authorization document expires before reverification happens?
The employer is responsible for tracking the applicable expiration date and completing any required reverification by the deadline. But Form I-9 does not itself create or extend employment authorization. Whether you are legally authorized to continue working depends on your underlying immigration status or employment authorization, including any applicable automatic extension.
Talk to an Immigration Attorney About Your Work Authorization
If you have questions about your work authorization, an upcoming reverification, or how a change in your immigration case could affect your ability to work, don’t guess. Contact Shihab Burke Immigration Lawyers at immigrationvisaattorney.com or 614-791-0500. You can also submit your immigration question for one of our live Q&A sessions at ImmigrationQuestions.US.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration and employment eligibility rules are fact-specific, and how they apply to your situation depends on your individual circumstances. Consult a licensed immigration attorney before making decisions about your work authorization or employment status.
