Audit Your I-9s before ICE Arrives

By Martin D. Kappenman and Francis P. Rojas - Peters & Kappenman, P.A.

January 15, 2026

There has been a sharp increase in Form I-9 audits in the workplace as a result of heightened immigration enforcement. Employers should act now to reduce their potential liability and ensure compliance.
 
Even if your entire workforce is legally authorized to work in the United States, you can still face significant monetary penalties for failure to have correctly completed the Form I-9s. These paperwork penalties alone can range from $281 to $2,789 per violation and in total can easily exceed $100,000 when applied across an entire workforce.
 
Employers should work with counsel to verify that their employees are timely and accurately filling out I-9 forms. We can either review your entire set of I-9s or a smaller random sampling to identify errors you may be making.  By catching and properly correcting mistakes before ICE arrives, you may be able to greatly reduce your liability.  Common mistakes that can lead to violations include, but are not limited to:

•    Employers not bothering to complete the form when hiring family members or close friends;
•    Employers not keeping the I-9 forms together in an organized fashion to allow prompt production upon request;
•    Failing to provide employees with I-9 form;
•    Employees not entering the correct name, other last names used (such as maiden name), address or date of birth;
•    Employees not entering their date of hire;
•    Employees not entering their business title, name or address;
•    Employees not signing or dating the attestation;
•    Employees not entering their Alien Registration Number after selecting that they are “A Lawful Permanent Resident.”
•    Employees not checking the correct boxes, or failing to check certain boxes required by the form;
•    Employers not completing Section 2 of the forms by the third business day after the date the employee began employment, or, if the employee is hired for 3 business days or less, at the time the employee started employment. 
•    Employers not entering the document title, number or expiration date for the acceptable documentation presented.
•    Employers not completing Supplement B (formerly Section 3) of the form until after the employee’s work authorization has expired.

Additionally, if you use a computer-generated Form I-9, you will face penalties if the system does not generate the proper audit trail.  It is a substantive violation for the employer to fail “to meet the standards for the electronic completion, retention, documentation, security, reproduction, electronic signature(s) for the employee, and electronic signature(s) for the employer, recruiter, or referrer for a fee, or representative, as set forth in 8 C.F.R. Section 274a.2(e), (f), (g), (h), and (i); and the HSI memorandum with subject line, “Guidance on the Collection and Audit Trail Requirements for Electronically Generated Forms I-9,” dated August 22, 2012, or as updated or superseded.”

For more information about the new changes to substantive violations, please see our Employer Advisor 294 here.

Employers should ensure that the information on the form is clear and readable, that applicable sections of the form are complete, and that the information entered matches the employer’s payroll records.  Our firm can expertly assist in conducting an attorney-client privileged internal I-9 audit in order to avoid potential penalties from the Department of Homeland Security.

www.pklaborlaw.com