Can a student employee's parent present the acceptable documents on behalf of their student in the live video interaction?
Simple answer: No.
Situation: A potential student employee does not have their original social security card (or other I-9 documentation) in their possession, so asks if their parent can join the live video interaction session to present the documentation on their behalf. Is that okay?
Response: Presentation of documentation by a parent or other person on behalf of a potential employee is not acceptable for a number of reasons that can be explained to the potential employee as follows: UNL follows the United States Immigration and Naturalization's (USCIS) Handbook for Employers M-274 guidance for completing Form I-9's. One of the factors that help employers determine that a document “reasonably appears to be genuine and related to the individual” is that the potential employee has possession of the original document. The HR representative, on behalf of the employer, attests by signing the Form I-9 that they have “under penalty of perjury, (1) examined the documentation presented by the above-named employee, (2) the above-listed documentation appears to be genuine and to relate to the employee named, and (3) to the best of my knowledge, the employee is authorized to work in the United States.” Even though UNL may fully believe that the third party/parent is who they say they are, USCIS guidance clearly states that documentation verification must be conducted with the person to whom the documents belong. This process is not meant to inconvenience the employee, however, UNL has a legal obligation to follow USCIS instructions.
Why does a copy of the backside of a two-sided document need to be included with Form I-9?
Simple Answer: It is a USCIS requirement.
Situation: The employee presents an acceptable document that is two-sided.
Response: When an employer chooses to remotely examine an employees’ documents, they must retain clear and legible copies of the front and back (if two-sided) of all Form I-9 documentation the employee presents remotely per the USCIS Handbook for Employers M-274 chapter 4.1.
Can an employee complete the Form I-9 electronically and present their documents in person?
Simple answer: No.
Situation: An employee agrees to completion of the Form I-9 electronically, but prefers to present their acceptable documents in-person. Is that okay?
Response: Currently, UNL's electronic completion of the Form I-9 via DocuSign is linked to live video verification as the method in which the HR will review the acceptable documents presented by the employee. If an employee is not comfortable attaching copies of their documents electronically and/or presenting them via a live video interaction, they must both complete the form and present their original documents in-person.
Why is the checkbox for the alternate document examination procedure not a required field on UNL's DocuSign template for Supplement B?
Simple answer: It isn't applicable in all uses of the Supplement B.
Situation: The checkbox for the alternate document examination procedure not a required field on the UNL template for Supplement B, therefore, HR professionals may forget to check that box.
Response: The checkbox field is optional as document verification is not applicable in all uses of the Supplement B form. For example, a rehired employee whose work authorization has not expired would not need to provide any documents, thus none would need to be examined using an alternate procedure. In addition, having this field optional accommodates situations where the HR professional may still want to complete the form electronically, however, the employee would prefer to present their document in-person since they are on-campus and working, whereas they weren’t yet when they completed their I-9 originally. It may be more convenient for the employee to just bring their document to work and have a copy made in-person.