The I-9 form is standard paperwork that must be filled out by each person that is hired at a new job. It is a single page form, but many people make mistakes when filling it out that can cost them money and time. It is essential that this form be filled out correctly to avoid employer penalties.

1. Missing or Incorrect Forms
   Common mistakes that are made when I-9 forms are being filled out include incorrect dates, transposed information and incomplete information. I-9 forms may also be misplaced by employers, which can lead to costly fines. Employers should also be sure that they ask for the correct identification documents from each employee.
2. Not Complying with The Three-Day Rule
   Regulations state that I-9 forms should be completed before the employee has been employed with the company for three business days. The employee and employer must complete the entire form and the employer must receive and verify identification documents within three days to avoid having to pay steep fines.
3. Not Re-Verifying Information
   Employers of people with some citizenship statuses are required to update and track the employee's documentation. Employers must remember to always have valid identification on file and request new copies of documents that are expiring soon.
4. Ensuring Identification Documents are valid
   Managers who are hiring employees are required to ensure that the identification documents that are provided to them are valid. They also must ensure that they have the proper combination of documents from the three lists. The documents presented with the I-9 form may be from list A or lists B and C.
5. Not Maintaining Documents Properly
   ICE regulations require every employer to destroy all I-9 forms from their employees either three years after the employee's hire date or a year after the employment has been terminated, whichever length of time is greater.
6. Not Having Proper Supporting Documentation for E-Verify Matching
   E-Verify introduced a photo matching system in 2010 to prevent prospective employees from using fake identification to obtain employment. This system requires employers to compare the onscreen photo from their system with the photo that is printed on the identification provided by the employee.

ICE also requires employers to maintain copies of each employee’s photo identification, in addition to verifying the image using the E-verify system. Even when employers know the rules and do their best to follow them, it is possible for mistakes to be made. Every employer should have a system of checks and balances in place to ensure that their company is following all of the proper procedures in regards to I-9 forms.

I-9Compliance.com provides a free and easy method of helping you stay on top of your I-9 forms. Their electronic compliance solution will help you "audit" your I-9 forms before ICE does, keeping you ready to respond to any I-9 request by the government at a moment's notice. I-9compliance.com can help take away one of the major headaches of doing business in this era of increased immigration enforcement.

Recently the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee debated H.R. 2164, a bill proposed by Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith which would mandate that all employers use the federal government's electronic E-Verify employee verification tool. H.R. 2164 would also increase penalties for knowingly hiring unauthorized foreign nationals. According to some observers, Smith's bill would have more impact on U.S. employers and their hiring practices than any bill since 1986's Immigration Reform and Control Act, which created the I-9 process.

During the subcommittee hearing, members of Congress and witnesses called before the subcommittee expressed a variety of perspectives on the bill. Rep. Smith, a longtime proponent of stricter immigration policy, noted that in some ways it can be easier to work illegally in the U.S. than to get medical care or do business with a bank, and that polling shows that Americans are overwhelmingly in favor of correcting this sort of fundamental absurdity in the U.S. immigration system. Subcommittee chairman Rep. Elton Gallegly argued that despite its added penalties, Rep. Smith's bill actually makes the employment verification process more fair for employers. This is because under H.R. 2164, employers would be permitted to make offers of employment contingent on clearance by E-Verify. Under current law, E-Verify can only be run after an employer is formally hired, leading to a number of complicated procedural and legal problems for employers when E-Verify cannot confirm that new employees are authorized to work.

Opponents of Smith's bill also spoke at the subcommittee hearing. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the leading Democrat on the subcommittee, noted that mandating E-Verify does not address the fundamental reasons that employers hire unauthorized workers in the first place. Smith's bill, therefore, will serve no purpose other than to unnecessarily grow the government if it is not combined with measures designed to legalize the population of undocumented workers who can be exploited for "under the table" employment. Tyler Moran, the policy director at the National Immigration Law Center, agreed with Rep. Lofgren, stating that Smith's bill by itself would only serve to damage the U.S. economy by pushing illegal workers further underground.

With even prominent figures who generally oppose immigration to the U.S. split on H.R. 2164 due to issues they see with the bill's limitation of state and local authority over immigration, the future of this bill is unclear. However, all employers would do well to pay close attention to any changes proposed in the U.S. employment verification system in the coming months.

I-9compliance.com provides a free and easy method of helping you stay on top of your I-9 forms. Their electronic compliance solution will help you "audit" your I-9 forms before ICE does, keeping you ready to respond to any I-9 request by the government at a moment's notice. I-9compliance.com can help take away one of the major headaches of doing business in this era of increased immigration enforcement.

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has issued a statement that they will begin the fifth surge in a series of investigations aimed at investigating potential employers of illegal immigrants. Approximately 1000 employers are being notified of intention to investigate.

"The inspections will touch on employers of all sizes and in every state in the nation, with an emphasis on businesses related to critical infrastructures and key resources," the ICE news release stated.

"Ultimately, our focus on business related to critical infrastructure and key resources aligns with our priority as an agency to first and foremost minimize threats to national security and public safety," Ice spokesperson Gillian Christensen suggested.

"ICE's worksite enforcement strategy focuses on employers, penalizing those who knowingly violate the law and deterring others from breaking the law," Christensen added. Stating that ICE "may arrest workers we encounter," she restated that the goal was to make examples of the employers that they could pinpoint and not to arrest and deport illegals.

According to ICE, the program is not being developed in a systematic format. Decisions on which random companies will be investigated will be done on "tips," possibly from anonymous sources and similar to the manner in which drug cases are built.

Claiming the scope would be broad, the federal agency stated that the focus would be on corporations in the banking and finance industry, commercial nuclear reactors, dams, drinking water and water treatment systems, government facilities, information technology, telecommunications and transportation systems, as examples.

No definitive statement was given with respect to "I-9 audit surges" against employers who depend on transient and seasonal workers to prepare their product for market. These industries include the agriculture and construction industry.

While reaffirming that the audits are intended to foster a culture of compliance among potential employers of illegal immigrants, the agency noted that this is the fifth such audit program. In the fiscal year 2010 ICE arrested 196 employers from 2,338 audits. The 2,196 audits of the preceding 2009 fiscal year resulted in 114 employer arrests.

Penalties from convictions for hiring illegal immigrants include fines and incarceration, but can also result in expulsion from the immigrant worker program and a ban from receiving future government contracts. ICE actually implemented this prohibition on 97 businesses and 49 individuals in the 2010 operating year.

I-9compliance.com’s provides an electronic compliance solution to help you with your I-9 forms, keeping you ready to respond to any I-9 request by the government at a moment's notice. Visit I-9compliance.com and get started today.

Recently, the state of Alabama passed its own immigration law, which some are calling one of the toughest laws in the country. The law easily passed through the Alabama legislature, following a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld Arizona’s law to impose sanctions against businesses that hire undocumented workers. The Legal Worker’s Act of 2007 requires a loss of business license and fines for companies that violate the law.

The new immigration law in Alabama also requires businesses to use the E-Verify system, also known as the I-9 system, to verify that job applicants can legally work in the U.S. Additionally, the law also states that transporting or harboring an illegal immigrant is a crime. Similar to the Arizona law passed in 2010,law enforcement personal are able to ask for documentation if they suspect a person is not of  legal status.

Opponents of the E-Verify system point out the challenging position in which employers are placed. Before verifying the legal status of job applicants, the employer must first offer the person a job. If the person is not eligible to work in the U.S., the employer is obligated to inform the person of their rights. If the person does not speak English, the employer must read the rights in the person’s native language. Failing to comply with the statue can result in fines and business closure.

A good resource that helps Alabama employers find qualified workers and follow the law is I-9Compliance.com, an integrated solution that can manage the complex system of I-9 compliance. This web-based solution is capable of streamlining the E-Verify process in one or multiple locations.

As a designated agent, I-9Compliance.com recommends that employers also trace the social security number of a prospective applicant, where legality is a concern. The social security number trace is typically part of the standard pre-employment background check. This might help to determine if the social security number is valid.

A valid trace indicates the employer can conduct the E-Verify process. Typically, the process for a social security trace is less time consuming and can prevent non-compliance with the Alabama law. An invalid return on the social security number eliminates the need for the employer to follow-up with the E-Verify system after making a job offer to an ineligible applicant.

I-9Compliance.com is a designated E-Verify agent. Using an integrated system with the Department of Homeland Security ensures real-time confirmation and compliance if there are any changes to the law. This system also notifies employers when the documentation for current workers expire, providing ongoing compliance.

A bill approved by the Tennessee Legislature and expected to be signed by the governor will strengthen incentives for Tennessee employers to use the federal "E-Verify" employee verification system to bar illegal immigrants from obtaining legal employment within the state. E-Verify is a Department of Homeland Security program available over the Internet and administered in tandem with the Social Security Administration. The Tennessee Lawful Employment Act (TLEA), which covers newly hired employees, will take effect January 1, 2012.

In addition to state and local governments and agencies within Tennessee, private-sector employers with more than 499 employees will fall immediately under the new provisions in January; companies with between 200 and 499 employees will be covered by July 1, 2012; and all businesses staffed by six or more employees will be covered beginning January 1, 2013. Employers with fewer than six employees are exempt.

Affected employers will be required to either choose the E-Verify system or to gather state-approved documentation from prospective workers. The documentation may include a current U.S. passport; state-issued driver's license or non-driver's identification card; official birth certificate; certificate of naturalization; permanent resident card; work authorization; or certain other forms of identification. The allowed documentation under the TLEA will differ from current I-9 verification requirements only in that copies of the documents must be retained by the employer. This document retention is not required by the federal Immigrant Reform and Control Act.

Consistent with the new legislation and with federal law, employers who opt into the E-Verify system must apply it without exception to all new hires; it will not be possible to alternate between verification methods. Employers lacking Internet access will be permitted to use the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DoLWD) as their agent for employee registration and verification. Limited "safe harbor" protections are available for employers who have opted for E-Verify.

A provision in the law empowers lawful residents of Tennessee or federal agents to file complaints at the DoLWD against allegedly infringing employers. Older provisions have authorized only local or state officials to file such complaints. The DoLWD will investigate credible claims that an employer has violated the law by hiring ineligible persons.

An employer failing to follow the law will be subject to a minimum penalty of $1,000 for a first offense, rising another $500 for each additional employee or non-employee over the first for whom the employer has neglected to collect and maintain satisfactory documentation; a second offense will incur a minimum penalty of $2,000, rising another $1,000 for each additional violation. A third offense will increase the minimum penalty to $5,000, with $2,500 more for each additional violation. A non-employee is defined as any individual paid by the employer for independent contractor services.

Under current law, employers found in violation might temporarily or permanently lose their business licenses, depending upon the number of offenses committed within a three-year period.