assignment_turned_in Policy

Employment Eligibility Verification and I-9 Compliance

To learn about recent changes to the federal Form I-9 and the university’s verification processes, see the news page Updated Employment Verification Process and Form I-9.

By law, all employers in the United States are required to complete Form I-9 for everyone they hire or rehire, and collect supporting documents to establish their eligibility to work in the U.S. This page explains the rules and regulations Stanford must follow to verify employment eligibility. 

To comply with the U.S. Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), employers are required to obtain and review the following documents within the listed timelines:

  • Form I-9 with the Employee section completed by the end of the employee’s first day of work.
  • Original documents establishing the employee’s eligibility to work in the U.S. plus the completed Employer section of Form I-9 within three business days of the employee’s first day of work.
  • For employees with temporary authorization to work in the U.S., updated work authorization documents before the expiration date of the employee's current work authorization.

Returning Employees

Employees who leave the university need a new I-9 when they return to university employment. The hiring department may facilitate this process by completing a new Form I-9 with the employee.
In limited situations, the employee’s previous Form I-9 is acceptable and no action is required by the employee or student worker. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service sets strict guidelines for when a break in service can be defined as a continuation of the person’s previous employment. See Verify Eligibility for Employment and Form I-9 for details.

Remote options for processing the Form I-9:

For more information on the Form I-9 to verify employment eligibility, visit the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.

Employers are prohibited from discriminating against any class of persons in administration of the I-9 process.

Form I-9 must be signed by an authorized representative of the employer. Therefore, it is recommended that a department administrator/HR administrator review the supporting documents and complete the form.

Non-compliance with IRCA invokes civil and criminal penalties as detailed in the following table:

Violations When... Penalties
Paperwork violations

Form I-9 not collected for a new hire or rehire

Form I-9 collected but not within three days for a new hire or rehire

Form I-9 collected but not fully completed

$252 to $2,507 per form
Employment violations Knowingly employing or continuing to employ an unauthorized worker $676 to $27,108 per employee, per incident, plus the potential of criminal penalties
Unlawful discrimination Requiring different documentation from different groups of employees. Employers cannot specify which document(s) they will accept from an employee $445 to $17,816 per employee, per incident

For additional information on IRCA compliance and enforcement, refer to Fact Sheet: Form I-9 Inspection Overview on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website.

Employment must be terminated if an employee:

  • Cannot or does not present I-9 documents or obtain receipts for replacement documents within the required three-day period.

    A receipt for a replacement document is acceptable only when the document has been lost, stolen, or damaged. Employees may work for up to 90 days with a valid receipt.

  • Cannot or does not present updated work authorization documentation by the end date of their current authorization.

    Renewal receipts, when the renewal was properly filed prior to the current end date, are acceptable documentation for H-1B, O-1 and certain types of Employment Authorization (EAD) cards. For a list of EAD card categories eligible to work while an extension is pending, refer to the USCIS EAD page.

    Renewal receipts are not acceptable for extensions of EAD cards or for an individual moving from one visa type to another.

If work was performed during the three-day I-9 collection period, the employer should pay for those hours to comply with the California Labor Code.  Work hours should be entered on the Termination Webform.

Last Updated: Aug 11, 2023

Questions?

arrow_upward
Back to Top