Form I-9

1986, the Form I-9 is used to verify the identity and confirm the employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of the Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and non-citizens.

Both employees and employers (or authorized representatives of the employer) must complete the Form I-9. On the Form I-9, an employee must attest to his or her employment authorization. The employee must also present his or her employer with acceptable documents evidencing identity and employment authorization. The employer must examine the employment eligibility and identity document(s) an employee presents to determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and to relate to the employee and record the document information on the Form I-9. The list of acceptable documents can be found on the last page of the form. Employers must retain the Form I-9 for a designated period and make it available for inspection by authorized government officers.

To ensure the University of California stays compliant with the law, hiring authorities must verify an employee’s identity and work authorization by completing the Form I-9 as noted above. This pertains to all staff, faculty, academic appointees and student hires.

At the University of California, the Form I-9 is completed and stored electronically using the vendor system I-9 Complete by Tracker.

The Form I-9 is a two-page form comprising three sections. Each section contains different requirements, and failure to comply would result in delayed hiring, transmission of incorrect data to USCIS for E-Verify purposes and civil penalties.

Section 1

Upon hire, the employee will be prompted to use Tracker I-9 Complete to complete Section 1 of the Form I-9. At the University of California, I-9 processors are required to ensure that an employee record exists in Tracker I-9 Complete and that Section 1 is complete no later than the employee’s first day of employment.

If Section 1 is not completed by the first day, the issue will be escalated to the designated I-9 managers or groups assigned by each campus location.

Section 2

The I-9 processor (or authorized representative of the employer) must use Tracker I-9 Complete to complete Section 2 of the form within three business days of the employee’s first day of employment.

If an employee fails to provide appropriate document(s) or Section 2 is otherwise not completed within the three day requirement, the issue will be escalated to the designated I-9 managers or groups assigned by each campus location.

Remote hires

Remote hires are employees who cannot be physically present at their home location to complete Section 2 of their I-9. In this circumstance, the employee must seek an authorized representative who will use Tracker I-9 to complete Section 2 of Form I-9 on behalf of the University of California.

For remote hires, the University will not designate authorized representatives in advance. Recommended authorized representatives include HR personnel, bonded immigration consultants, employees of a bank or financial institution, another UC location partner, or an agent referred by the University.  As a best practice, authorized representatives should be at least 18 years old and should not be family members or friends of the employee.

The location I-9 coordinator can schedule a remote session by zoom with the authorized representative to guide them through the process during the authorized representative’s in-person meeting with the remote hire.

If a remote authorized representative cannot be found or is unwilling to complete Form I-9, contact the location I-9 coordinator or administrator.

Supplement B (formerly known as Section 3)

Updates and Re-verifications

The I-9 processor will use Tracker I-9 to complete Supplement B of the Form I-9. Supplement B may be used to re-verify or update work authorization for existing employees and for rehires. I-9 processors may complete this section if this section has not already been utilized and is still accessible. If a paper Form I-9 exists for an employee that requires Supplement B to be completed and the employee’s record do not exist in the Tracker I-9 system, a historical I-9 can be completed with the paper Form I-9 scanned and uploaded to the Tracker I-9 system to complete Supplement B electronically. Otherwise, a new Form I-9 should be used for re-verification and updates.

Rehires

When rehiring an employee, Supplement B of the Form I-9 may be used if the employee was rehired within three years from the date of the previous Form I-9. Otherwise, a new Form I-9 must be used, and Section 1 and Section 2 must be completed.

UC, as a federal contractor, must verify qualifying new and existing employees, including employees who may be assigned through a transfer to a qualified federal contract/subcontract that contains the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause, referred to as the E-Verify clause.

E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. E-Verify compares the information an employee provides on Form I-9 and is processed through Tracker I-9 Complete. For locations using E-Verify, an E-Verify case will be created with the information from the I-9. The E-Verify page will appear and interact with the necessary records.