Reviewing and Verifying Form I-9 (Section 2)

Purpose

Section 2 of Form I-9 is completed by the employer (or an authorized representative) to verify the employee's identity and work authorization. You examine the documents the employee presented, confirm they reasonably appear genuine and relate to that person, record the document details, and sign. This article covers where to open Section 2, the fields on the page, and how UZIO can create the E-Verify case for you.

Who can do this: Any employer user with access to the employee's documents (typically the Employer Admin). Where an I-9 signatory has been assigned, that is the person UZIO notifies and expects to sign. See Assigning the I-9 Signatory.

When you must complete Section 2

Federal rules require Section 2 within three business days of the employee's first day of work for pay. For example, if the employee starts on a Monday, Section 2 is due no later than Thursday of that week. Business days are Monday to Friday, excluding federal holidays. Weekends do not count against the three days.

You can start Section 2 once the employee has completed Section 1 and the I-9 status is Pending with Employer. This applies to both Prospective Employees and active Employees. UZIO notifies the assigned I-9 signatory (or, if none is set, the user who assigned the document) when the form reaches this status.

Where to access Section 2

There are several ways to open Section 2, all of which require the I-9 status to be Pending with Employer:

• Finish Onboarding (Prospective Employees): Go to Employees > Prospect Employee, select the employee, open Actions, and click Finish Onboarding. If the I-9 is pending with the employer, you can view and complete it on the Finish Onboarding page.
• Document Library (any employee): Go to Documents > Tax and Compliance > I-9 Form, then click Edit & Sign for the specific employee.
• Employee Documents (any employee): Go to the employee's Documents > Tax and Compliance > I-9 Form > Edit & Sign.

Clicking Edit & Sign opens the Section 2 page.

Section 2 page overview

• The employee's information from Section 1 is shown in read-only mode for your review. You cannot edit it here.
• If a default signatory is configured, that person's name is pre-populated as the Section 2 signer. See Assigning the I-9 Signatory.
• If the employee uploaded documents and entered details in Section 1, those fields are pre-populated in Section 2. Review them carefully and update only if necessary, based strictly on the documents presented.

How to complete Section 2

1. Select the document combination — either List A, or List B and List C together.
• If you enter documents in the List A columns, leave List B and List C blank.
• If you enter a List B document, you must also enter a List C document, and leave List A blank (and vice versa).

1. Select and verify the document type(s).
2. Enter or confirm the document details: document title, issuing authority, document number, and expiration date (if any), taken from the documents the employee presented. You may use common abbreviations, such as DL for driver's license or SSA for Social Security Administration.
• Checking a document you do not see often? Which Documents to Present for Form I-9 and Exactly What to Type lists where each number sits and the issuing authority to enter. A mis-keyed document number or wrong state of issuance is the most common cause of a later Unconfirmed Data result, and a signed form cannot be edited.
3. Review or upload document images: JPG, PNG or PDF, maximum 5 MB per file. Upload the front and the back of each document. Uploaded images are shown directly in the Section 2 review screen so you can confirm the documents appear genuine.
4. Alternative Procedure checkbox: check this only if you examined the documents remotely via a live video call using the DHS-authorized procedure. See I-9 Alternative Procedure (Remote Examination). Leave it unchecked for in-person examination.
5. Additional Information field: optional free-text notes (for example, the date and method of a remote examination). Recommended when using the alternative procedure.
6. Enter your Title (see below).
7. Sign using the signature canvas and Submit.

Entering your Title

USCIS requires a Title in the employer certification block of every completed I-9. It identifies the role of the person who reviewed the documents.

Examples: HR Manager, HR Director, Payroll Administrator, Controller, Office Manager, Operations Manager, CEO, President, Owner.

Creating the E-Verify case

If your organization is enrolled in E-Verify through UZIO, you may be prompted after Section 2 submission to create the E-Verify case:

• Yes: UZIO creates the E-Verify case. It appears on the employee's I-9 record as Awaiting E-verify Submission and is sent to E-Verify by an hourly job, normally within the hour. What each status then needs from you is in Understanding Your E-Verify Case.
• No: Section 2 is still submitted and saved, but no E-Verify case is created. The case can be created later from the employee's I-9 record.

After you submit

• UZIO generates the completed Form I-9. Download it any time using Download Document on the I-9 record.
• Download the employee's uploaded images using Download Supporting Documents on the I-9 form page.
• A signed I-9 cannot be edited. If a correction is needed, reassign a new I-9. See Reassigning a Form I-9.
• If a created E-Verify case is submitted, its status appears on the I-9 record. Each status and the action it requires is explained in E-Verify Case Statuses and Workflow.

Common problems

Why can't I edit what the employee entered?

Section 1 is read-only to you by design. Federal rules make the employee's attestation theirs alone, and a signed Section 1 cannot be altered by anyone. If the personal details or citizenship status are wrong, the only fix is to reassign a new I-9 and have the employee complete it from scratch. See Reassigning a Form I-9.

Section 2 won't save

Work through these in order:

1. Check the document combination. List A and List B+C are mutually exclusive, and a B without a C (or vice versa) is rejected: "Invalid I-9 document combination for employee - must be List A OR List B + List C".
2. Check for a named field. If the message names a specific field, for example "I-94 number required with foreign passport.", supply that field. These messages are per-document and tell you exactly what's missing.
3. **If you saw *"Unable to process and save I9 form data"***, that was a defect, not your data. It occurred when an employee double-submitted Section 1 and left duplicate document rows behind, and it has since been fixed. If you still see it, report it; see Still stuck? below.

I wasn't prompted to create the E-Verify case

The prompt only appears if your organization has the E-Verify module enabled. If you are enrolled and the prompt didn't appear, or it appeared and the case failed, check the employee's hire date against your MOU-signed date first (see the Warning above). That is the most common cause by a wide margin.

Answering No to the prompt is also recoverable: Section 2 is still saved, and the case can be created later from the employee's I-9 record.

I'm past the three-day deadline

Submit anyway. A late case is far better than no case. E-Verify expects a delay reason on a late submission; if you don't enter one, UZIO automatically tags the case with Technical Problems so the submission isn't rejected outright. Do not skip the case or backdate anything to make the window look met.

Someone else was supposed to sign this

The assigned signatory is the user UZIO notifies and expects to complete Section 2. If the wrong person is being chased, or the person who was meant to sign has left, the fix is to reassign the signatory. An Employer Admin can reassign the signatory at any time, on an individual employee's I-9. See Assigning the I-9 Signatory.

Can I download everyone's I-9s at once?

No bulk PDF download exists. Individual signed I-9s download from each employee's record using Download Document. For a workforce-wide view before an audit, use the Custom Report Builder I-9 form details report, which carries the same data as the PDFs in tabular form.

The employee's document type isn't accepted

If case creation returns "Unsupported List B document: {code}" (or the List A / List C equivalent), the document type you selected can't be mapped to a DHS code. Re-check that the document you selected matches what the employee actually presented. Most of these come from picking a near-neighbour in the dropdown. If a currently valid USCIS document is rejected, report it; see Still stuck? below.

Still stuck?

If Section 2 won't save after you've checked the document combination and every named field, or the E-Verify case fails to create for an employee hired after your MOU date, contact UZIO Support. Please reach out to us at support@uzio.com or call +1-571-601-1752. Send the employee's name and employee ID, a screenshot that includes the full error text, the document list you selected (List A, or List B and List C) with the document types, and the employee's date of hire. Do not send images of the identity documents themselves.

Related articles

• Which Documents to Present for Form I-9 and Exactly What to Type — verifying the number and issuing authority against the document presented
• Completing Section 1 of Form I-9 — the employee's half, in the employee library
• Understanding Your E-Verify Case: Statuses and What Each One Needs From You — what happens after you answer Yes
• I-9 Alternative Procedure (Remote Examination)
• Assigning the I-9 Signatory
• Reassigning a Form I-9
• Setting Up Self-Onboarding