If the employee fails to complete anything, the employer will be held liable.

The employer can’t request to see any documents that confirm the correctness of the information. The employer can only request information for section 2 that establishes work authorization and identity.

Make sure the employee does not leave any spaces blank, especially with social security numbers and birth dates. The employee may refuse to give out this information because of privacy considerations. Remind the employee that the I-9 form is a government document that must to be completed.

Do not have the person complete the form until after he has accepted the position. If the I-9 form is complete prior to the extension of an offer, a  company could be faced with a a claim for age or race based-discrimination.

This section must be completed before or on the day of employment. If an HR department chooses to have these completed earlier, this should be  consistently done for all new hires.

The admission number is located on the white small I-94 card that is given to nonimmigrant visa holders. Most foreign nationals keep this card with their passport. The A# is given to permanent residents (green card holders) and is located on their green cards.

The expiration date is located on the new hire's I-94 card or an I-797 INS approval notice.

If a new hire indicates that he has limited work authorization, HR staff  must enter that expiration date into a tickler which will track the dates and alert you to when reverification must occur.

Make sure that the new hire signs in the appropriate space and dates when they completed section 1. Failure to date is a common error.

When the new hire’s finished completing the section 1, make sure everything is filled out. If it isn’t, he’ll have to be called back in which is an inconvenience. The employer cannot complete any portion of section 1, even if the information can be obtained from the employee’s personnel form.