To complete the I9 employment eligibility form for this situation, a foreign new hire will usually present his/her foreign passport and immigration papers.  To comply with I9 regulations, be careful not to request specific documents. 

HR staff may write down the information regarding the new hire’s passport in the first four spaces of list A of the I9 employment eligibility form.  Query the new hire for his I-94 card if this is not produced. The I-94 card is a small white card that is issued to the foreign national by airline personnel and is usually kept together with the foreign passport. The I-94 card will indicate the type of visa status that the foreign national is entering the U.S. in on and the expiration date of this status.

Staff can write down the I-94 number and the expiration of their visa in the remaining two spaces under list A.  Note that the expiration date may not always be on the I-94 card but on some other immigration document like the DS-2019 for J-1 exchange visitors or an I-20 for F-1 students. In that case, the I-94 card will have the abbreviation “D/S” which stands for duration of stay. If the employer sees this abbreviation, he should request to see the foreign national’s other visa paperwork.

The expiration date should then be entered into a tickler system to remind HR to request proof of renewed work authorization at a later time. This information can then be entered in Section 3 of the I-9 form.     

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