On April 11, 2013, the American Immigration Lawyers Association Verification and Documentation Liaison Committee held a meeting with officials from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) HSI Worksite Enforcement Unit. One of the issues discussed was the advance preparation of Section 1 of the I-9 form by electronic I-9 programs. This is an important issue for many employers who use electronic I-9 systems. Many electronic I-9 systems are integrated with other HR systems and seek to create efficiencies in the hiring process by inserting employee information in Section 1 from data in the employer’s intake program.
In what we believe is a fairly significant change in the agency’s position on this issue, ICE stated that advance preparation of Section 1 is not permissible, regardless of whether the preparer/translator section is completed and regardless of whether the individual employee provided the original information that is used.
Based on these statements, employers should be aware that an electronic I-9 program that involves advance preparation of employee information in Section 1 carries same legal risk. The agency’s position applies to an employer’s existing and future electronic I-9s.
It is not clear why ICE has taken this position. We are monitoring this change and hope to provide more information in the near future.
WIMBERLY, LAWSON, STECKEL, SCHNEIDER & STINE, P.C.
Suite 400, Lenox Towers,
3400 Peachtree Road, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30326-1107
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Related Content
Change Is In the Air at EEOC and USDOL
Trump’s DEI Order Ends Affirmative Action Obligations of Federal Contractors
The Trump Administration’s Effects on Immigration and an Employer’s Workforce
Trump’s Executive Order Redefining Sex Creates Immediate Issues for Employers
Trump Fires NLRB and EEOC Members, Setting up Legal Clash
