The below includes helpful information as it pertains to NRAs and completion of the documents required for all new hire or rehired employees in a paid position.
NRA DocuSign Templates
Payroll-approved DocuSign templates have been created to assist with the completion of most of the new hire or rehire documents electronically and are the preferred way to do so. The NRA DocuSign templates for hourly, salary, and student NRA employees include the UNL Foreign National Data Form. In addition, the SSN fields within the templates are optional, as not all NRAs have a SSN at the time they are completing their new hire paperwork. For additional guidance on completing certain forms for NRAs when they do not yet have a SSN, see NRAs Without a Social Security Number.
For more information on accessing and using the Payroll-approved DocuSign templates, please see Accessing and Using DocuSign Templates within the New Hire Paperwork manual.
Personnel Action Form (PAF, ePAF)
Complete as normal being mindful of wage types and employee group.Form I-9
Page 1 of the I-9 should be completed by the employee unless translation services are needed. This section should not be typed by the department.
See USCIS Form I-9 Acceptable Documents for a list of acceptable documents that an employee may provide for the I-9. While an employer cannot specify which documents an employee presents beyond providing the I-9 instructions, it is most common for NRAs to present a list A item as they do not always have a list C item. For refugees, an I-94 with refugee stamp serves alone as a List A item for I-9.
For guidance on completing the I-9 when an NRA does not yet have a SSN, see NRAs Without a Social Security Number.
When an employee has a change in their citizenship or immigration status, UNL requires a new Form I-9 and E-Verify be completed.
I-9 Reverification: Supplement B of the Form I-9, Reverification and Rehires, is required to be completed for NRA employees when their employment authorization document or receipt has expired. See Supplement B section of How to Complete an I-9 Form.
FAQs: Form I-9 for NRAs
How is an asylee or refugee different from other "non-citizens authorized to work" when completing I-9?
Refugees and asylees are employment eligible incident to their status and are authorized to work indefinitely because their immigration status does not expire. Therefore, in Section 1 of the I-9, a refugee/asylee will check status option 4 "A noncitizen authorized to work" and does not need to complete the Expiration Date or may write "N/A," even if they have an Form I-766 Employment Authorization Document (EAD) with an expiration date. Employers are prohibited from requiring evidence of an EAD from refugees/asylees due to their protected status. However, all other employees who check Status 4 "non citizen authorized to work," will need to complete the expiration date field. If these employees write N/A in the date field or leave the field blank, the Form I-9 is invalid and would need to be redone. For detailed information about asylees and refugees, please review Section 7.3 Refugees and Asylees of USCIS Handbook for Employers M-274.
How will I know if an employee who selects option #4 for their citizen or immigration status will have an expiration date?
Employees with an immigration status of asylee or refugee are the only individuals who can select this option and leave the corresponding date field blank. All others will have a date in which they are authorized to work until, and it must be entered in this field for the form to be valid.
Is a foreign passport alone a sufficient List A document for an NRA?
No. The foreign passport must be accompanied by a Form I-94 or Form I-94A with Arrival-Departure Record and contain an endorsement to work to be considered an acceptable List A document. See the List of Acceptable Documents.
Can an NRA present a restricted Social Security card for a List C document?
No. Social Security cards that are issued to individuals in the United States on a temporary basis are stamped with one of the following restrictions and are not valid List C documents:
- “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION”
- “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH INS AUTHORIZATION”
- “NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT”
If an employee doesn't have a SSN card but has applied for one, is there a requirement for how soon the employee must provide their social security number for Form I-9 processing?
The Social Security Administration states that applicants should receive their SSN card within two to four weeks after the Administration has received everything needed to process the application. It is recommended that departments follow up with employees on a weekly basis until a copy of the card is obtained. Valid social security numbers are required for year-end W-2/1042S reporting to the federal government.
What is the process for NRAs when they receive their social security card?
See the NRAs Without a Social Security Number section of this manual for detailed instructions.
Copy of Social Security Card
All UNL employees must provide a copy of their social security card as a requirement of employment.
For guidance when an NRA does not yet have a SSN, see NRAs Without a Social Security Number.
NOTE: Valid social security numbers are required for year-end W-2/1042S reporting to the federal government. NRAs cannot be hired or work in November or December without a valid social security number.
E-Verify
Complete the E-Verify process as normal.
For guidance on completing the E-Verify when an NRA does not yet have a SSN, see NRAs Without a Social Security Number
Personnel Data Form (PDF)
Complete as normal. Instruct the NRA to use their current U.S. address as their permanent address.
W-4
NRA employees must be given and refer to Notice 1392, Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens when completing the W-4. The notice includes some of the following guidance that should be followed by the NRA employee:
- Check the “Single or Married filing separately” box in Step 1(c), regardless of actual marital status
- NRAs should not use the Tax Withholding estimator
- Only certain residents of Canada, Mexico, South Korea, or India can complete Step 3
- Step 4 is optional
- Write “nonresident alien” or “NRA” in the space below Step 4(c)
- Do not claim “exempt” from withholding in the space below Step 4(c), even if both of the conditions to claim exemption from withholding listed in the instructions are met
For guidance on completing the W-4 when an NRA does not yet have a SSN, see NRAs Without a Social Security Number.
W-4N
When completing a W-4N, an NRA employee should check the “Single” box regardless of actual marital status. In addition, their total number of allowances on line 1 can be ‘0’ or ‘1’ except for students from India. Students from India can choose more than one allowance, but still must check the “Single” box, regardless of actual marital status.
For guidance on completing the W-4N when an NRA does not yet have a SSN, see NRAs Without a Social Security Number.