For the employee, the Form I-9, Section 1 may be completed as early as the date an offer of employment is accepted, but must be completed no later than his or her first day of employment.

 For the authorized representative, the Form I-9, Section 2 can be completed as early as the date an offer of employment is accepted, but must be completed within three (3) business days of the employee’s first day of employment.

The authorized representative is not required to be present when the employee completes Section 1. The authorized representative must physically examine each original document presented to determine if they reasonably appear to be genuine.  Therefore, reviewing documents by webcam are not permissible.

An employee previously employed with USC must complete a new Form I-9 if he/she had a break in service for more than one (1) year.

If an employee is unable to provide the required supporting documents to prove identification and eligibility to work within three business days of his or her first day of employment, the employee is not allowed to continue working.

Each new employee (FTE, temporary, TFAC, time-limited or research grant positions) must complete a Form I-9.

CUPA-HR has a Form I-9 reciprocal processing consortium with a list of institutions and their HR representatives who can help you complete your Form I-9. Please email [email protected] to obtain a list of institutions in a particular zip code area who can process an I-9 for you. 

The authorized representative must not correct errors or omissions in Section 1. The authorized representative may request that the employee correct the error by drawing a line through the incorrect information; entering the correct or omitted information; and initialing and dating the correction or omitted information.

The authorized representative may only correct errors made in Section 2 or Section 3. The authorized representative corrects the error by drawing a line through the incorrect information; entering the correct or omitted information; and initialing and dating the correction or omitted information. 

In all instances regarding corrections, do not use whiteout or attempt to conceal any changes made on the Form I-9 by scratching to the point the information becomes illegible. Do not use stamped signatures or dates. 

An employee should enter current address, regardless of whether it is a temporary or permanent address. Do not use a post office box. The e-mail address is optional, but may be a personal or business e-mail address. The format is [email protected]. The telephone number is optional, but if entered, the format is 000-000-0000. 

No fields should be left blank. If information is not included in the field, enter N/A for “not applicable”.

Both typed and handwritten information are acceptable to complete the Form I-9. In addition, pencil and pen may be used to complete a Form I-9. Ink may be any color that is legible, although USC Human Resources prefers blue in order to distinguish an original from a copy of the Form I-9. If using a pencil, do not erase.

Enter the number of the citizenship or immigration status checkbox the employee selected in Section 1 (Numbers 1 through 4).

Record the institution’s legal name, the University of South Carolina, and include your division or department. Include your physical or local address. USC’s zip code is 29208. The employer business/organization name and address may be prefilled for convenience.

If the documents reasonably appear on their face to be genuine and to relate to the person presenting them, accept them. To do otherwise could be an unfair immigration-related employment practice. If the document(s) do not reasonably appear on their face to be genuine or to relate to the person presenting them, do not accept them. Ask if the employee has other documentation that would satisfy Form I-9 requirements. (Taken from USCIS.)

The authorized representative may not choose which documents the employee presents from the Lists of Acceptable Documents. Accept any document from List A or a combination of documents from List B and List C that the employee presents to you.

The document title may be any number of abbreviations to signify the identity of the document. For example, reference the document title as driver’s license issued by state, social security card, US passport, or US military card.

The issuing authority is the specific entity that issued the document. Use the name shown on the document. For example, reference the issuing authority as Department of Motor Vehicle for a driver’s license, Social Security Administration for a social security card, or Department of State for a US passport.

Copies of List A documents must be submitted with the Form I-9 to USC Human Resources.

For questions on E-Verify and how to enroll, go to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services web site.

E-Verify may be completed as early as the date an offer of employment is accepted, but must be completed no later than the third business day after the employee starts work for pay. For example, if an employee begins work on Monday, the E-Verify must be completed by Thursday of that week.

The "Hire Date" field in E-Verify represents the date the employee accepts an offer of employment or the date that Form I-9 is completed. The E-Verify system will generate an error message if you enter a future date because E-Verify is designed to prevent the screening of employees before they actually accept an employment offer. The hire date may be the actual "start date" if Form I-9 is completed on this date.

E-Verify needs to be performed only when a new employee is hired whether the employee or student employee is in an FTE, temporary, TFAC, time-limited or research grant position. If the employee separates from USC and then returns, E-Verify does not need to be performed again. Provide the original E-Verify case verification number on the Form I-9.

For international faculty and staff, please call the International Support for Faculty and Staff Office at 803-777-0288.