Every employer must have a valid Form I-9 complete for every employee hired after November 6, 1986. While the requirements and procedures for completing a Form I-9 have not changed in over 30 years, the detailed and specific nature of those procedures make its proper completion very difficult for most companies. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is tasked with conducting audits of these Form I-9’s which, given its increasing budget, have dramatic increased in the past year with 2025’s audits estimated to be ten times more than those conducted in 2024 and 2026 to see even more audits.
On March 16, 2026, ICE updated the guidance its agents use to audit companies’ Form I-9’s to reclassify errors which increases the possible penalties and fines for even basic errors.
As before, the guidance organizes errors into two categories: technical or procedural (for which companies are given 10 days after the inspection to correct) and substantive violations (for which companies face monetary penalties without the chance to correct).
In the new guidance, several errors have been reclassified from “technical” to the more serious – and costly – “substantive” including:
- Section 1: missing the employee’s date of birth; A-number, I-94, or foreign passport number; authorization expiration date; and the date of employee’s signature;
- Section 2: missing the employee’s date of hire, the date of representative’s signature, the employer or representative’s title, required document information (even if a copy of that document is attached), failure to verify new document within 90 days if receipt was presented;
- Supplement A: missing or incomplete information on the preparer or translator;
- Supplement B: missing the employee’s date of rehire, document information, and failure to verify new document within 90 days if a receipt was presented;
- General: using the Spanish Form I-9 outside of Puerto Rico, not checking the “alternative procedure” box if verifying remotely, and system failures for electronic I-9’s.
Additionally, ICE has defined new technical errors including:
- Section 1: missing the employee’s other last names and address;
- Section 2: missing the employer’s name and address;
- Supplement A: not including the employee’s full name at the top;
- Supplement B: not including the employee’s full name at the top or recording the employee’s new name;
- General: not using the form current at the time of completion, not verifying the Social Security Number if enrolled in E-Verify
These reclassifications along with the increased audits to be conducted creates an urgent need for all employers to prepare their organization by:
- Reviewing your Form I-9 process and procedures: This includes completion for new hires, reverification, and record-keeping (retention and purging).
- Training anyone who completes the Form I-9: Since companies will have less time to fix errors, it is crucial to ensure the people completing, signing off on, and reviewing the forms are properly trained.
The Workplace Advisors offers the services to help you review your process, assist your Form I-9 review, and conduct training for any employees who are involved in the process. HR Support Plan members receive discounts on these services as well as on-going support when I-9 questions arise.
