Handbook For Employers. Instructions For Completing Form I-9 Employment Eligibility: Fill & Download for Free

A Social Security card or number is not required for employment. It can be one of the documents used on the I-9, but other documents can also be used. If you use Social Security as one of your I-9 documents to prove eligibility for employment, you MUST present the physical SS card.——————————————-Here is a link to the USCIS’s “Handbook for Employers” Handbook for Employers M-274In those instructions, the following is noted regarding completing Section 1:Employees may voluntarily provide their Social Security numbers on Form I-9 unless you participate in the E-Verify program. Employees must provide E-Verify employers with their Social Security numbers. Employees who can satisfy Form I-9 requirements may work while awaiting their Social Security numbers.You may not ask an employee to provide you a specific document with their Social Security number on it. To do so may constitute unlawful discrimination. For more information on E-Verify, see Section 1.2 E-Verify: The Web-Based Verification Companion to Form I-9. For more information on unlawful discrimination, see Section 11.0 Unlawful Discrimination and Penalties for Prohibited PracticesFor Section 2 (the documents section): If the employer participates in E-Verify, then the I-9 requires that the employer actually be given the physical document that you’re presenting. The easiest document to present is the US Passport (if you have it), since no other supplemental documentation is required with it.From the Handbook:Within three business days of the date employment begins, the employee must present to you an original document or documents that show their identity and employment authorization. For example, if an employee begins employment on Monday, you must review the employee’s documentation and complete Section 2 on or before Thursday of that week. However, if you hire an individual for less than three business days, you must complete Section 2 no later than the first day of employment. The employee must be allowed to choose which document(s) they will present from the Form I-9 Lists of Acceptable Documents. You cannot specify which document(s) an employee will present from the list.Physically examine each original document the employee presents to determine if the document reasonably appears to be genuine and relates to the person presenting it. Make sure the person who examines the documents is the same person who attests and signs Section 2.The employee must be physically present with the document examiner.———————————————-This is difficult and inconvenient for situations in which the employer is hiring someone remotely, but the physical presentation of the actual document to a “representative” of the employer is still required.