Employers must examine the documentation employees present to complete Section 2 of Form I-9. Employers are not required to be document experts. They must accept documents that reasonably appear to be genuine and to relate to the person presenting them. However, if a new employee provides a document that does not reasonably appear to be genuine, the employer must reject that document and ask for other documents that satisfy the requirements of Form I-9. The standard used for determining whether a document is genuine is whether a reasonable person would know that the document is fraudulent.
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If an employee |
Employer should |
Tips |
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Provides documentation that reasonably appears to be genuine, relates to the employee, and is on the List of Acceptable Documents |
Accept the documentation |
HELP |
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Provides a document that does not reasonably appear to be genuine or relate to the employee or is not on the List of Acceptable Documents |
Reject the document and ask for other document(s) that satisfy Form I-9 requirements |
Employers should only reject documents that do not reasonably appear to be genuine or to relate to the employee, or that are not on the List of Acceptable Documents |
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Writes more than one last name in Section 1, but presents a document from the List of Acceptable Documents that has only one of those last names |
Ask the employee the reason for the difference in the names. If it reasonably appears to be genuine and to relate to the individual then it may be accepted. |
Attach a memo to the Form I-9 explaining the discrepancy. |
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Presents a document from the List of Acceptable Documents in which his or her name is spelled slightly differently than the name he or she wrote in Section 1 |
Ask the employee the reason for the difference in spelling. If it reasonably appears to be genuine and to relate to the individual then it may be accepted. |
Ask employees to use their full legal name in Section 1. Ask the employee to do one of the following: correct Form I-9 and initial the change; provide a different document with the correct spelling; provide the employer with a corrected document. |
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Provides a document in which the name the employee wrote in Section 1 is completely or substantially different from the name on the document |
Ask the employee the reason for the name change
If the employee maintains that the name in Section 1 is his or her legal name and the employer is satisfied that the document reasonably appears to relate to the employee, the employer may accept the document.
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Attach a memo to the Form I-9 explaining the discrepancy.
If the employee voluntarily provides proof of a name change, the employer may keep a copy of it with the memo.
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Provides a document that does not reasonably appear to be genuine and/or to relate to the individual or if he or she cannot present other documents to satisfy the requirements of Form I-9 |
The employer may terminate employment. |
HELP |
Employers who partner with the IMAGE Program receive training and education from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on proper hiring procedures, fraudulent document detection and anti-discrimination laws. Employers may also visit the Office of Special Counsel website for more information on anti-discrimination laws and employment verification.
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