9.0 Correcting Errors or Missing Information on Form I-9 (2024)

FAQs

How do you correct errors or missing information on Form I-9? ›

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), the best way to correct the Form I-9 is to line through the portions of the form that contain incorrect information, enter the correct information and initial and date your correction. The use of correction fluid (White Out) is not recommended.

If you should make a mistake on Form I-9, the appropriate way to correct the form is to line through the portions of the form that contain incorrect information, then enter the correct information. Initial and date your correction. White-out is not permissible.

Once identified, a missing I-9 form should be completed by the employer and the affected employee immediately along with the current date. This won't correct the error, but it does demonstrate a good-faith effort to comply with the law, which may be considered if penalties are assessed.

Noncompliance Leads to Penalties

The I-9 violations may result in civil and criminal penalties. Civil fines for I-9 paperwork violations range from $281 to $2,789 per violation and the fine increases with each repeated violation.

To correct the form:

To correct multiple recording errors on the form, you may redo the section on a new Form I-9 and attach it to the old form. A new Form I-9 can also be completed if major errors (such as entire sections were left blank or Section 2 was completed based on unacceptable documents) need to be corrected.

(1) Create new, correct I-9 Forms for each affected employee and attach to old I-9 Forms OR • (2) Make conspicuous corrections on the originally non-compliant I-9 Form. – Make correction(s) by crossing out with a line, then date and initial. Do not use white out.

You may be fined and/or imprisoned for up to five years if you: Make a false statement or attestation to satisfy the employment eligibility verification requirements; Use fraudulent identification or employment authorization documents; or. Use documents that were lawfully issued to another person.

You may terminate an employee who fails to present acceptable documentation (or an acceptable receipt for a document) within three business days after the date employment begins. If you fail to properly complete Form I-9, you risk violating section 274A of the INA and may be subject to civil money penalties.

You must complete a new Form I-9 when a hire takes place, unless you are rehiring an employee within three years of the date the employee's previous Form I-9 was completed.

Failure to comply with I-9 regulations as set forth above can lead to significant monetary penalties for the employer, including fines for each missing or incorrectly completed Form I-9 (in other words, a civil fine ranging from $272 to $2,701 for each missing I-9 for each employee for bad or missing paperwork, or ...

What is the 3 day rule for I-9? ›

Within three business days after your first day of employment, you, the employee, must present to your employer original, acceptable, and unexpired documentation that establishes your identity and employment authorization.

In most cases, auditors chalk up changes to tax errors. In the case of an error, you have to pay the additional taxes, and as long as you pay them by the due date, you shouldn't have to worry about any civil penalties.

Substantive errors are those that cannot be corrected because, as a result of the error or omission, the verification of the new hire's employment eligibility failed at the time the form was completed. An employer may receive a monetary fine for all substantive errors.

While your company may trigger an I-9 audit from an individual complaint, it is far less likely if you have airtight onboarding, hiring, and internal I-9 procedures in place.

Email USCIS-updategenderinfo@uscis.dhs.gov and request to change your name or gender or both. If you are seeking to make a correction due to a typographical error, please visit the “How to Request a correction to your notice or document (based on USCIS error)” section on this page.

Accountants must make correcting entries when they find errors. There are two ways to make correcting entries: reverse the incorrect entry and then use a second journal entry to record the transaction correctly, or make a single journal entry that, when combined with the original but incorrect entry, fixes the error.

The most common mistakes Lashus sees are timing errors. "The most frequent mistake isn't related to writing information down improperly—although that happens all the time—but is related to the timing of the Form I-9. Section 1 must be completed before close of business (COB) the first day of employ.