Frequently Asked Questions

Your participation in E-Verify may require you to make a few small changes to your current hiring process:

• Some List B documents to not bear a photograph. You are no longer allowed to accept those documents; all List B documents must now include a photograph;
• Although writing the Social Security Number in Section 1 is actually optional for employees of non-EVerify employers, your new hires must provide the number. If the new hire has not yet been issued a number, you must delay E-Verify until the number is received;
• While copying identification documents is optional for an employer, you must now copy at least U.S. Passports, Permanent Resident Cards and Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) and retain the copy with the employee’s Form I-9. You can copy or not copy all other documents; whatever your copying policy is, it must be applied uniformly and without discrimination;
• You are required to display the E-Verify Participation poster and “Right to Work” poster in the area on your premises where Form I-9 and other employment paperwork is completed. If this is not practical, you must provide a copy of both posters to the new hire at the time that you provide Form I-9 and other employment-related paperwork.

We know that it’s a little counter-intuitive but, no, you cannot complete Form I-9 nor submit a new hire for E-Verify verification until after the employee has been hired. In other words, you cannot use Form I-9 or E-Verify to “pre-screen” applicants for employment eligibility. This rule is in place to protect legal workers from an adverse hiring decision based on erroneous or incomplete SSA or DHS information.

You can, however, verify a newly-hired employee before they actually begin work for pay. Here are the rules:

1. You may not require the applicant to complete Form I-9 until after the position has been offered and accepted;
2. Section 1 must be completed by the employee by the end of the first day of work for pay;
3. Section 2 must be completed by the employer by the end of the third day after the first day of work for pay. If the employee will work for three days or less, Section 2 must be completed by the end of the first day of employment;
4. The new hire may be submitted for E-Verify verification any time after the position is offered and accepted, and Form I-9 is completed. Verification can occur before the employee actually begins work for pay;
5. The new hire must be submitted for E-Verify verification before the end of the third day after the first day of work for pay. There are very few acceptable reasons for a delayed verification; for example, if the E-Verify system is unavailable, or if the new hire has not yet been issued a Social Security number.

The verification process is not complete until you receive a final determination of employment eligibility from us. If an employee chooses not to contest a Tentative Non-Confirmation or simply disappears, notify us promptly so that we can close the case. A final confirmation protects you from claims of discrimination.

A Social Security number is required to verify a new hire. Also, you may not accept for Form I-9 a receipt for the application for a new identification document. If your employee has applied for a Social Security number but has not yet received the card, he or she may work while waiting for the Social Security Administration to process his or her SSN application. You should complete Form I-9 with the employee as much as possible, but wait to submit for E-Verify verification until the employee receives his or her SSN. Most likely, your submission will occur past the three-day deadline, so please tell us that the submission was delayed because the employee was waiting on the Social Security card.

The answer depends on the circumstances of each case. For a more detailed explanation, go here. 

No, employers cannot ask for specific documents, or for more documents than are required for the Form I-9. Employees have the right to choose which documents they will present to the employer from the Lists of Acceptable Documents.