Form I-9 is used to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must properly complete Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens. Both employees and employers (or authorized representatives of the employer) must complete the form.

On the form, an employee must attest to his or her employment authorization. The employee must also present their employer with acceptable documents evidencing identity and employment authorization. The employer must examine the employment eligibility and identity document(s) an employee presents to determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and to relate to the employee and record the document information on Form I-9. The lists of acceptable documents can be found on the last page of the form. Employers must retain Form I-9 for a designated period and make it available for inspection by authorized government officers.

Sections of Form I-9

Section 1 of Form I-9:

• This is a self-service feature through your Workday inbox.
• It needs to be completed no later than the first day of employment. 

Section 2 of Form I-9:

• This is an in-person task with Onboard@Penn or an Authorized Representative.
• It needs to be completed no later than the third business day following the date of hire.
• If you start working on Monday, this needs to be completed by the end of business on Thursday.

Supplement B of Form I-9:

• Supplement B (formerly Section 3) is used when:
  • An employees employment authorization or documentation of employment authorization has expired
  • An employee is rehired within 3 years of the date that Form I-9 was originally complete
  • Employee has a legal name change

• This is an in-person task with Onboard@Penn or an Authorized Representative.

Section 1 of Form I-9: 

• Log into your Workday account
• Navigate to your inbox
• Select "Complete Part 1 of Form I-9"
• Enter all required fields
• *A Social Security Number is not required

Section 2 of Form I-9:

• Acquire necessary documents
• You must provide (1) document from List A (Documents That Establish Identity and Employment Authorization) - OR - one (1) document from List B (Documents That Establish Identity) and one (1) document from List C (Documents That Establish Employment Authorization)
• DOCUMENTS NEED TO BE UNEXPIRED AND ORIGINAL. WE CANNOT ACCEPT SCANS OR COPIES
• Make an appointment with Onboard@Penn to complete the physical inspection of your work authorization documents
• Make an appointment online to present your documents in person.

Federal regulations allow the employer to rely on the original Form I-9 and complete Supplement B when an employee is rehired within three (3) years of the date of the original Form I-9.

Some examples include: 

1.     An employee who worked at Penn from 2016 to 2019 is rehired in 2020. This employee will be required to complete a new I-9 because the original Form I-9 is more than 3 years old.

2.     An employee was originally hired in 1985 and retired in 2018. In 2020, the employee was rehired for a temporary position. This employee will have to complete Form I-9 because their original hire date is prior to the Form I-9 regulation so there is no Form I-9 on file for them.

3.      A student worker was hired in 2020 and graduated in 2021. The student worker was terminated and then rehired into a staff position in 2022. This does not require a new Form I- 9; however, it does require a reverification of employment authorization (Supplement B)

Penn participates in the CUPA Consortium for Reciprocal Forms I-9. Instructions for using this option can be found on the Onboard@Penn website.

To complete a reciprocal Form I-9, you will need to:

• Obtain a Form I-9 with the University of Pennsylvania's information and complete Section 1.
• Confirm your zip code with an Onboard@Penn specialist as well as your official start date in Workday.
• Be provided a list of Consortium sites according to your zip code.
• Coordinate an appointment with the Consortium site.
• Complete physical inspection of unexpired, original items from the lists of acceptable documents with an Authorized Representative from the Consortium Site. They will complete Section 2.
• Send color scans of the complete Form I-9 and the documents back to Onboard@Penn via SecureShare.
• Mail original Form I-9 and colored scans of documents used to: Onboard@Penn, 3601 Walnut Street, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

For additional assistance, please contact the Penn Employee Solution Center or call (215) 898-7372. An Onboard@Penn representative will provide guidance.

The list of acceptable documents can be found here. 

Submitting employment authorization documents virtually was a temporary stopgap option due to COVID-19.

Employers are still required by the Federal government to verify all new employees’ original documents physically, in person.

The list of acceptable documents can be found on the USCIS website.

ALL DOCUMENTS NEED TO BE UNEXPIRED AND ORIGINAL. WE CANNOT ACCEPT SCANS, COPIES, OR ANY OTHER FORMAT.

The following are examples of the original, unexpired documents that may be required in addition to documents presented for completion of Form I-9:

1. Passport
2. Work Authorization Document
   1. I-20 for F-1 Visa (all pages)
   2. DS-2019 for J-1 Visa
   3. I-797 for H-1 Visa
3. Most recent I-94 (printed from DHS website)
4. Employment Authorization Card (if applicable)
   1. Student on OPT or STEM-OPT extension
   2. Pending Permanent Residency
   3. J-2 or M-1 work authorization status)

Employees also need to complete all the onboarding tasks in their Workday inbox. Some items require clicking the orange "submit" button at the bottom of the screen. Once all these tasks are completed, both Parts of Form I-9, direct deposit information will be processed.