Employment Eligibility Verification

The university is required by federal law to verify the identity and employment eligibility of an employee to legally work in the United States and at GW. 

To verify identity and employment eligibility, all new GW employees must complete both Section 1 and Section 2 of Form I-9 within 3 days from their date of hire.

• Section 1 of Form I-9 needs to be completed no later than the first day of employment.
• Section 2 of Form I-9 needs to be completed by the third day of work.

Note: Due to GW's participation in E-Verify (#335965), Form I-9 requires U.S. Social Security Numbers (SSN). Before you can complete Form I-9, you need to have applied for an SSN.

To verify employment eligibility for current GW employees with expiring work eligibility, they will need to complete Section 3 of Form I-9 to avoid termination as it is the employee's responsibility to present updated work authorization documentation.

• Section 3 of Form I-9 needs to be completed on or before the date the current authorization expires.

 

To facilitate the timely completion of your Form I-9, please proceed with ONE of the following options:

Completing Form I-9 (Anywhere) OR Completing Form I-9 (In-Person)

 

Completing Form I-9 Anywhere

To facilitate the timely completion of Form I-9 anywhere, please schedule an appointment by accessing the I-9 Anywhere Service link and selecting “GWURemoteI9” as the dropdown option, on or before your date of hire. This option allows you to satisfy the federal requirement after office hours or over the weekend.

This link will direct you to complete Section 1 of the I-9 and navigate you through the scheduling tool to set your Section 2 completion appointment in accordance with federal law requirements. 

Be sure to pick a day and time that you are fairly certain you will be able to make it, as the university incurs a no-show fee.

The I-9 Anywhere Service by Equifax uses a nationwide network of USCIS-compliant remote service providers. This can include retail chains such as the UPS store and other small local businesses. These site operators are trained to complete Section 2 and Section 3 of Form I-9 and follow proper CDC COVID-19 guidelines.

 

OR

Completing Form I-9 In Person

If you live within 15 miles of the Foggy Bottom or VSTC Campuses, you may complete this in person by scheduling an appointment below:

1. Complete Section 1 digitally at http://www.newi9.com/ on or before your date of hire, then enter employer code 14290. After you finish, you’ll see a list of acceptable original documents you can bring to complete the in-person verification for Section 2. 
2. Section 2 requires you to present your documentation in person at either location listed below. We ask that you register for a campus location and time slot prior to showing up. Please register for an appointment within 3 business days of your hire date. Click here to register for an appointment.
3. For I-9 Reverifications (Section 3), please register for an appointment and show your updated work authorization at one of our HR offices.

 

General I-9 Information

What is the I-9 form? The I-9 form is the Employment Eligibility Verification Form which helps employers verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States.

Who needs to complete an I-9 form? All employees who perform labor or services in return for wages must complete an I-9 form.

How long do new hires have to complete an I-9 form? Employers must ensure that employees fully complete Section 1 of the I-9 form on or before the date of hire. Section 2 of the I-9 form must be verified by an authorized university representative within 3 business days of the hire.

Can documents supporting the I-9 form be faxed? No. Employees must present original documents. The only exception is a certified copy of a birth certificate.

Do I need to appear in person to complete my I-9 form? Yes. Because an authorized representative at GW must attest to identity as well as employment eligibility, an employee must appear in person to complete Section 2 of his/her own I-9 form. 

Where can the I-9 form be completed? I-9 forms may be completed at one of GW's designated verification centers OR can be completed using our I-9 Anywhere service. 

What is the I-9 Anywhere service? Occasionally, a department will hire a faculty or staff member who will not be physically in close proximity to one of our I-9 verification centers and may not be able to access a GW Authorized I-9 Representative in their local area to complete the I-9 process. To facilitate the timely completion of I-9s, it is the employees’ responsibility to click the electronic Form I-9 link to access the I-9 Anywhere service. The electronic Form I-9 will direct the employee to complete Section 1 of the I-9, except they will be brought through the scheduling tool to set their Section 2 completion appointment in accordance with federal law requirements.

Be sure to pick a day and time that you are fairly certain you will be able to make it, as the university incurs no-show fees. Please also note that Equifax uses a nationwide network of USCIS-compliant remote service providers. This can include retail chains such as the UPS store and other small local businesses. These site operators are trained with completing Section 2 and follow proper CDC COVID-19 guidelines.

In what circumstances does the I-9 form need to be reverified? If you have a work authorization that will expire in the future, you must reverify your I-9 form no later than the date that the work authorization expires. 

For employees whose work authorization documentation expires, the I-9 Form must be reverified in Human Resource Management and Development (HRMD). It is the employee's responsibility to present updated work authorization documentation to HRMD on or before the date the current authorization expires. The Bureau of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recommends that employees apply through the appropriate agency for new work authorization at least 90 days before the expiration date. Failure to provide updated documentation may lead to termination since we cannot allow the employee to continue to work under federal law standards. 

For employees who are being rehired, the I-9 Form must be updated or reverified by HRMD or by a department authorized by HRMD to complete reverifications. If an employee has been rehired after a lapse of one year, a new form may need to be completed, as I-9 forms are only kept on file for one year from the date of termination or three years from the original date of employment, whichever is greater. Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) may be contacted at 571-553-3679 to verify that a completed I-9 is still on file.

Will I be notified when my work authorization is about to expire? While Human Resource Management and Development will make every effort to notify employees of impending expirations of work authorizations, it is the responsibility of the employee to ensure that their eligibility for employment is maintained.

 

I-9 Information for Hiring Managers

Should hiring managers tell new hires to bring a driver's license and Social Security Card? No. To avoid charges of discrimination, employees must be able to choose which document or combination of documents they want to present from the list of acceptable documents.

Do independent contractors need to complete an I-9 form at GW? No. If you contract with another company for the services of an individual and pay the contracted company for those services, the contracted individual is not required to complete an I-9 form at GW. The contracted company is responsible for that individual's I-9 form.

 

Electronic I-9

The Electronic I-9 process replaces the former paper form-based process used to complete Section 1 of the I-9. If you have a question, please contact or email us at [email protected].

In order to complete Section 1 of the I-9:

• Go to the Equifax I-9 Management portal
• Enter the employer code 14290 when prompted
• Complete the rest of the form as prompted

Once Section 1 is completed, the list of acceptable documents for Section 2 will be presented to you. Within three (3) business days of your start date, please bring the required documents to one of our I-9 verification centers to complete Section 2 of the I-9 in person.

 

Electronic I-9 FAQ

Q: What is GW’s Employer Code?

A: 14290

Q: How do I sign Section 1 if the form is electronic?

A: You will be asked to enter your initials as they would appear based on the name you entered in Section 1.

Q: Can I use a nickname in Section 1?

A: No. The I-9 form is an official Federal document, and you should use your legal name as it appears on your backup documentation.

Q: I am at a remote location and cannot access one of the verification centers. What should I do?

A: Refer to the Remote I-9 Procedure for more information.

 

E-Verify

E-Verify is an Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that allows employers to verify the employment eligibility of their employees, regardless of citizenship. Based on the information provided by the employee on his or her Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9 form), E-Verify checks this information electronically against records contained in DHS and Social Security Administration (SSA) databases.

The university must E-Verify our employees as soon as the job offer is made and accepted and within three (3) days of the employee's start date. This impacts all university employees assigned to a federal contract that includes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

The GW E-Verify number is 335965.

Note: U.S. Social Security Numbers (SSN) are required when completing the I-9 because GW participates in E-Verify (# 335965) You would need to have applied for an SSN prior to completing an I-9.

New hires: Within three (3) business days after the date of hire, verification of newly hired employees must be initiated.

Existing employees newly assigned to a contract: Within 90 calendar days from the contract award date, each employee already on staff who is assigned to the contract or 30 days after assignment to the contract, whichever is later.