If you haven't hired any foreign workers, do you need to worry about immigration law requirements?

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 requires all employers, no matter how small, to verify that a new hire is either a United States citizen or is an alien entitled to work in the United States. You may not lawfully hire anyone, whether a foreign worker or a lifetime resident of the U.S., without checking the person's identity and authorization for employment. All employers must complete a U.S. Citizenship and Imigration Service (USCIS) Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, for every new hire. Form I-9 is a one-page form divided into three sections-Section 1, which the employee completes, Section 2, which the employer completes, and Section 3, which the employer uses to re-verify or update the original document if necessary subsequent to initial hiring.

Employers have the following verification obligations:

1. Employees must be instructed to fill out their portion (Section 1) of Form I-9 when they begin work;

2. Employers must check documents establishing employees' identities and eligibility to work;

3. Employers must properly complete the employer portion (Section 2) of Form I-9;

4. Employers must retain I-9 forms for at least three years or until one year after a person leaves employment, whichever is later; and

5. Employers must present I-9 forms for inspection to USCIS or Department of Labor officials upon request after three days' advance notice.

The USCIS has separated documents that may be used by the employee for proving identity and work eligibility into three categories:

1. Documents that establish both identity and employment eligibility (List A);

2. Documents that establish identity only (List B); and

3. Documents that establish work eligibility only (List C).

When asking the employee for documents to complete Form I-9, you must make it clear that the employee has a choice of providing either:

• One document in List A, or

• One document on each of List B and List C.

Form I-9 retention requirements are discussed at ¶11,135 . Questions and answers about I-9 forms can be found at ¶36,250 ; a sample form appears at ¶36,255 .