I-9 Background Explainer

  • The I-9 form stems from federal law which states that US employers verify both their employees' identities AND their eligibility to work. 
  • Verifying their employment eligibility is stated by Cornell as one of our student employee responsibilities, https://studentemployment.cornell.edu/students-overview.
  • Student Employment Services guidance for verifying their employment eligibility begins here: https://studentemployment.cornell.edu/resources/i-9-form. 
  • All US employers must verify both employee identity and work eligibility within three (3) business days following their dates of hire. After 3 days they are considered ineligible to work and must be placed on a leave of absence for up to 10 days. If employees are not verified within two weeks of being hired, they must be terminated. CGSA members are referred to university Labor Relations.
  • US employees are required to present to the employer their original, physical copies of their unexpired documents for verification. Many student employment reps are open to working with students' individual constraints to compliance on a case by-case basis. Please ask us for help!
  • Some forms of photo identification such as a US-issued passport or Employment Authorization "greencard" serve both functions to verify identity and eligibility. 
  • Other forms of ID require multiple documents - most commonly:
    • Foreign national students here on F-1 visas must present their passport, most recent I-94 border entry stamp, and I-20 form. 
    • The other most common identity + eligibility combinations are driver's license plus Social Security card or birth certificate
  • Navigate here for a complete list of acceptable documents, https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents
  • Questions? Please talk to your department student employment representative or administrative manager. Student Employment Services and Office of Global Learning staff are also available to help with more general work-related questions.
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