We are hiring an employee out of state who will be living and working more than a thousand miles away. How do we handle getting his Form I-9 processed?
This can be a very difficult situation, since the law makes no exception for a remote employee — the employer must have the Form I-9 completed within the first three days of the employee beginning employment.
Difficulties
In prior years, employers routinely used the services of a notary public to complete the Form I-9, but that option has eroded. Notaries frequently don’t know what their responsibilities are, may not be familiar with the requirements of the form or even are refusing to perform this task.
Indeed, California even has a law that requires an individual doing this task be bonded as an immigration consultant.
The employer is ultimately responsible for getting the Form I-9 completed and doing it correctly. The original documents must be examined; therefore “Facetime” and “Skype” are not acceptable methods of validating the qualifying documents. Nor can the new hire’s family member handle this matter.
Options
One option is to send the company’s HR director to handle the matter. The cost of a round trip flight could be significantly less than the possible penalties that might result from knowingly conducting the matter incorrectly.
Another option is to obtain the services of an immigration consultant as noted above. Again, this is required in California when outsourcing this task.
Yet another option is to obtain the services of an employment law attorney/firm near the new hire, as such law firm/attorney should be experienced with the nuances of the Form I-9 form.
Bottom line, employers in California should make sure to have in place an internal Form I-9 compliance policy and that employees who are responsible for administering the program be familiar with the requirements of this form.
A good source for information on Form I-9 is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
CalChamber member can read more on I-9 Form: Verifying Eligibility in the HR Library. Not a member? See what CalChamber can do for you.
