Form I-9
Form I-9 is used to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers are required to have their employees complete a I-9. The SSA 1945 is an electronic form in Equifax used to meet the requirements of the Social Security Protection Act of 2004.
All new or rehired employees must complete the I-9 and SSA-1945 forms electronically through Equifax. The I-9 (section 1) and SSA-1945 forms must be completed no later than the first day of employment. These documents may be completed once the final offer has been made and accepted.
To gain access to complete section 2, section 3 or both sections of the I-9 form, please complete the HR System Access Request form and email to HRIS.
The new hire will complete section 1 as part of their onboarding packet of electronic forms they will automatically receive when their hiring proposal is approved (for administrative professional, faculty, state classified, or postdoc employees) or their background check is approved or deemed unnecessary (for student, non-student hourly, and graduate assistant employees).
Once section 1 is complete, arrange a time to meet with the employee to view and verify their original identification and work authorization documents, and complete section 2.
Departments are not required to make copies of the supporting documents.
If your employee’s employment authorization or employment authorization documentation expires, you must reverify to ensure your employee is still authorized to work.
Reverifications must be done no later than the date the employee’s work authorization expires. Late verifications may lead to interruptions in the employee’s pay and employment. Reverifying is done by completing section 3 of the I-9 in Equifax.
Remote Agents are authorized representatives who are engaged on behalf of CSU to complete section 2 of the I-9 for remote hires. While USCIS does not place restrictions on who may serve as an authorized representative, restrictions may vary by state.
Departments are responsible for ensuring section 2 of the I-9 is completed on time and within compliance.
For assistance in locating a Remote Agent, members of CUPA may use the I-9 Reciprocal CUPA Consortium.
Hiring managers will complete and submit a Request for Remote Agent Access to HR Records in order to gain Equifax access for their designated representative.
Once access has been granted, the Remote Agent will receive email instructions and temporary login credentials for Equifax. The employee and Remote Agent will schedule a time to complete section 2 of the I-9.
All foreign nationals must contact the CSU Foreign Tax Office to complete necessary paperwork for employment. Please refer to the CSU Foreign Tax Office for more information regarding the appointment of foreign nationals and taxation.
International students at CSU with employment eligibility questions, should contact International Student and Scholar Services.
Please note that CSU is not able to employ a non-US citizen working in their home country (please contact HR for additional information).
Resources
- USCIS: I-9 Central
- I-9 Training
- Equifax User Manual
- Complete Section 2 of the I-9
- Completing the Form I-9: The Electronic Process (PDF)
- Remote Agent Access Request Form
Contact
- Email: hr_operations_resources@colostate.edu
- Phone: 970-491-6947
- Fax: 970-491-6302
- Address: 555 S. Howes Street Fort Collins, CO 80523-6004
Frequently Asked Questions
General
Form I-9 can be completed as soon as the job offer has been extended and accepted. Newly hired employees must complete and sign section 1 of the I-9 form no later than their first day of employment.
You may not use the I-9 process to screen job applicants or to delay the actual start day of work.
You may designate an authorized representative to fill out the I-9 form on your behalf. The Department of Homeland Security does not require the authorized representative to have specific agreements or other documentation for I-9 purposes. If an authorized representative fills out the I-9 on your behalf, you are still liable for any violations in connection with the form or the verification process.
When completing the I-9 form, you or authorized representative must physically examine each document presented to determine if it reasonably appears to be genuine and relates to the employee presenting it.
If you hire a notary public, the notary public is acting as an authorized representative of you, not as a notary. The notary public must perform the same required actions as an authorized representative.
CUPA-HR provides access to a reciprocal processing consortium for members to assist one another in the timely processing of I-9s. To locate members of the consortium, log into www.cupa.org and click on the Knowledge Center tab.
Once an authorized representative has been identified, please complete the Request for Remote Agent Access and submit to HR Records. The authorized representative will received limited access to the Equifax system and be provided with credentials and instructions on completing the I-9 electronically.
Yes. The hire date on your employee’s I-9 must match their actual start date as recorded in the Oracle system.
If your employee’s date of hire changes after the completion of their I-9, you can search for your employee in Equifax and select “Change Hire Date” to make corrections.
Section 1
Employees must complete every applicable field in section 1 of the I-9 with the exception of the telephone number, e-mail address, and Social Security number fields.
Note, an employee must enter their Social Security number if the local employer participates in E-Verify.
The electronic I-9 system will determine if a field may left be blank or if N/A is required. If N/A is required in any field left blank, the system will automatically populate N/A in the field.
Employees may leave the field requesting Social Security number blank (with the exception of those employees whose local employer participates in E-Verify). However, if an employee selects “SSN Applied For” they must present their SSN card for verification within 90 days of receipt, You must verify the authenticity of the document and update section 1 accordingly.
Employees with two last names or a hyphenated last name must include both names in the last name field of the I-9.
If an employee enters two last names in section 1 but presents a document that only displays one of those last names, the document he or she presents for section 2 is acceptable as long as you are satisfied that the document appears genuine and relates to the employee.
You may help your employee complete section 1 of their I-9. However, you must also complete the Preparer and/or Translator Certification block. The employee must still sign the certification block in section 1.
Section 2
Yes. You may accept a laminated Social Security card as a List C document even if it states “not valid if laminated” or “do not laminate” as long as the card reasonably appears to be genuine and to relate to the person presenting it.
Yes. A signature on the card is not required for the card to be valid. You may accept an unsigned Social Security card as long as the card reasonably appears to be genuine and to relate to the person presenting it.
No. Only original or certified copies of birth certificates issued by a state, county, municipal authority or outlying possession of the United States, bearing an official seal, are acceptable for I-9 purposes. Hospital issued birth certificates are not acceptable List C documents.
Section 3
At this time, work authorization updates do not automatically integrate into Oracle upon the completion of section 3 reverifications in Equifax.
Updates to work authorization expiration dates are manually completed by HRC staff before each payroll run (every other week and monthly), so you may not see the update reflected in Oracle right away. Please contact Records for assistance if immediate updates are needed.
Contact Records for assistance. Do not complete a new I-9.
Employees with approaching work authorization expiration dates will appear on your Equifax dashboard. The “R” next your employee’s name will change from black to red to bolded red as their expiration date grows closer. Additionally, the I-9 Expiration report available in Vista Plus should be utilized to monitor approaching work authorization expiration dates in Oracle.