Employment Eligibility (I-9)

Federal law requires all employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States; therefore, it is the University’s policy to employ only those individuals eligible for work in the United States.  To ensure the identity and the employment eligibility of all persons employed, hiring departments are responsible for documentation and verification requirements. These requirements are met through proper completion of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 designated by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

Employee: generally includes faculty, staff, adjunct, temporary, intermittent, time-limited, student, and graduate assistants who are working on paid appointments by the University.  For specific information on who is considered an employee, contact the Office of Human Resources.

E-Verify:  a web-based system that allows an employer, using information reported on an employee’s Form I-9, to verify an employee’s identity and eligibility to work in the United States. The E-Verify system is operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Form I-9: an employment eligibility verification that is required to be completed by all employees hired in the United States after November 6, 1986.

As an E-Verify employer, Delta State University will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. Employment eligibility verification through E-Verify will also be required for current employees who begin work on covered federal grants or contracts but who previously have not been entered into E-Verify.

Section 1 of the Form I-9 must be completed on or before an employee’s first working day and all new employees will be required to complete fully the I-9 verification process and produce the appropriate documentation within three business days of starting work. All offers of employment are contingent upon a candidate’s fulfillment of this requirement and a failure to do so will result in termination of employment.

All new employees are required to present to the hiring department original documentation of their true identity and employment eligibility from the groups identified below. One document from Group A establishes both employment authorization and identity. If an employee does not have a Group A document, he/she must present one document that establishes identity from Group B and one document from Group C that establishes employment eligibility.

The employee may choose which document(s) to present to verify employment eligibility. However, a document(s) that is not an original and/or which does not appear to be genuine may be denied.

Group A Documents

1. United States Passport or United States Passport Card
2. Permanent Residence Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551)
3. Foreign passport that contains a temporary I-551 stamp or temporary I-551 printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa
4. Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I-766)
5. For a nonimmigrant alien authorized to work for a specific employer because of his or her status;
   1. Foreign passport; and
   2. Form I-94 or Form I-94A that has the following:
      1. The same name as the passport; and
      2. An endorsement of the alien’s nonimmigrant status as long as that period of endorsement has not yet expired and the proposed employment is not in conflict with any restrictions or limitations identified on the form.
   3. Passport from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) or the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) with Form I-94 indicating nonimmigrant admission under the Compact of Free Association Between the United States and the FSM or RMI.

Group B Documents

1. Driver’s license or ID card issued by a State or outlying possession of the United States provided it contains a photograph or information such as name, date of birth, gender, height, eye color, and address.
2. ID card issued by federal, state, or local government agencies or entities, provided it contains a photograph or information such as name, date of birth, gender, height, eye color, and address.
3. School identification card with photograph
4. Voter’s registration card
5. U.S. military card or draft record
6. Military dependent’s identification card
7. Native American tribal documents
8. United States Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card
9. Driver’s license issued by a Canadian government authority

Group C Documents

1. A Social Security Account Number card, unless the card includes one of the following restrictions:
   1. Not valid for employment
   2. Valid for work only with INS authorization
   3. Valid for work only with DHS authorization
2. Certification of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Forms DS-1350, FS-545, FS-240)
3. Original or certified copy of birth certificate issued by a State, county, municipal authority, or territory of the United States bearing an official seal
4. Native American tribal documents
5. S. Citizen ID Card (Form I-197)
6. Identification Card for Use of Resident Citizen in the United States (Form I-179)
7. Employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security

The appropriate University designee will certify Section 2 of the Form I-9 and prepare the E-Verify case report within three business days of the employee’s first date of employment.

If the employee requires a re-verification of work authorization and is unable to present their documents on or before their work authorization expiration date, the employee cannot continue to work.

Form I-9 for all employees must be retained for either three years after the date of hire or one year after the employment ended, whichever is later.

Responsible Office and/or Policy Owner: Office of Human Resources

• Form I-9
• Instructional for Form I-9
• Form I-9 Central
• E-Verify Participation Posting

Active

Reviewed by the Office of Human Resources:  03/19/2019

Approved by Cabinet: 04/22/2019