Section 2 overview
Section 2 of the I-9 form, which is either filled out by you as the employer or an employee-designated authorized representative, is the second step in the I-9 workflow.
This step involves reviewing, confirming, and signing off on the information & documents that the employee provided in Section 1.
Section 2 must be completed no later than three days after the employee’s first day of work for pay.
Digitizing I-9 Section 2: the Fountain Approach
The Fountain I-9 center offers flexibility in how you and your employees complete Section 2 of the I-9 process.
Deciding on which option to go with involves two main decisions: who completes the review, and how. With Fountain, you can choose just one of these methods for all of your employees, allow your employees to select from multiple options, or show different options based on segments.
Who completes Section 2:
Section 2 can be completed by one of two people:
Employer: you, as the employer, will examine the presented documentation to verify that is it legitimate.
Authorized Representative: a designated representative, who is not the employee themselves, can verify the documents on behalf of the employer.
This person can be chosen by you, the employer; or by the employee themselves.
This can be beneficial in reducing some of the I-9 workload on your HR team
How to complete Section 2:
Section 2 document review can be performed one of two ways:
In order to be eligible for this alternative procedure, you must do the following:
In order to be eligible for this alternative procedure, you must do the following:
Review copies of Form I-9 documents or a receipt to ensure they appear genuine;
Conduct a live video interaction with the individual presenting the document(s) to confirm their authenticity and relevance;
Note on Form I-9 that an alternative procedure was used to examine documentation;
Keep a clear and legible copy of the documentation;
Provide clear copies of the identity and employment authorization documentation during a Form I-9 audit or investigation.
Note: if your company utilizes this alternative procedure with E-Verify at any hiring site (a location where employees are hired and complete the I-9 form), then all new employees for that hiring site must be offered the option to use the alternative procedure.
One exception to this requirement is that if a hiring site hires both in-person and remote employees, then that site has the option to only use this alternative procedure for its remote employees. [1]
Fountain-Supported Document Review Methods
No matter how you choose to complete section 2 document review, and by whom, the Fountain Worker Experience I-9 Center will be able to support it using one (or more!) of these options:
Standard I-9: Using our standard scheduler functionality, the employee schedules an on-site document review with you, the employer.
Remote I-9: Also utilizing our scheduler functionality, the employee schedules a live video call with you, the employer, to validate their documents.
Smart I-9: Document review is completed in-person by an authorized representative of the employee's choosing.
Geolocation features are utilized to ensure that the employee and the authorized representative are in the same physical location (within 15 feet of each other)
I-9 End-to-End: The employee schedules a live video session with a Fountain-trained professional, who will review and validate their documents.
See below for more details on the workflow for each of these options.
Selecting Verification Methods for your Employees
When setting up an I-9 task, you can select one or more methods to offer to your employees for Section 2 completion.
Our dynamic segment functionality allows even more flexibility, allowing you to set each option by different data points such as: job, location, or any other employee attribute.
In the I-9 task setup screen, you’ll see a list of options for Section 2 verification methods:
By default, Admin Validation is always enabled and cannot be turned off. This allows for you, as an admin, to always have the option to complete Section 2 for any employee.
Beyond that, you can select any of these additional Section 2 completion methods:
Authorized Representative: The employee selects an adult, other than themselves, to review and verify their documents
On-Site verification: The employee sets up a time to have their documents reviewed physically on-site at their work location
Live video verification (aka the ‘alternative procedure’): The employee sets up a time to have their documents reviewed over live video
As a reminder, you must meet the requirements outlined earlier in this article in order to be eligible for this method
If you elect to use this procedure, then you must also do the following
[2]:Examine both sides of the presented document over video to verify that it is genuine and related to the individual
Retain a clear copy of the documentation on file
Select the checkbox in the Section 2 window that indicates you have used the alternative procedure to examine the provided documents
If you would like to offer On-Site and/or Live Video Verification options, then please see this article for additional setup instructions.
This setup will allow you to connect your calendar, display available time slots for Section 2 meetings to your employees, and to automatically add scheduled meetings to your calendar.
Once that setup is complete, then you will click the arrow button on the On-Site or Live Video Verification box, and fill out the fields shown below (including an option for a custom live video provider link for Video Verification):
Meeting duration: The amount of time that you want each verification meeting to be
Description (optional): A description of the I-9 verification meeting, which will be shown in the meeting invite to your employee
Calendar Group: Which employer admin calendars will be used to set up appointments with employees
Reminders: Optionally send an email reminder to you and the worker before the event
If you’re setting up a Live Video Verification option, then you will also have the option of filling out these fields to specify a live video provider for these appointments:
Provider Description: Name of the video provider (ex. Zoom), which will show in the event calendar invitation to the worker
Live Video URL: The URL that employees should click on in order to join the virtual meeting
After selecting one or more of these Section 2 verification options, you can also:
Mark one as recommended: this flags that option as ‘recommended’ to your workers, which is useful if one method is more efficient for your company
To do so, click the check mark icon:
Re-order the options to show one before the other, which can also be useful if you want workers to select certain options over others.
To do so, click and hold on the re-order button for any option and drag it up or down:
Worker Selection Between Methods
If multiple methods are available for a worker, once they complete Section 1 in their worker portal, they’ll be shown all available options for completing section 2:
If the worker selects Authorized representative, then they will continue on in the workflow outlined here.
If they select Live Video or On-Site Verification, then they will select from a list of available time slots based on your calendar setup here.
Seeing Forms That are Ready for Section 2 Review
To easily view all of the forms that are ready for Section 2 review, go to the I-9 worker table (Onboard app in the sidebar > I-9 Forms page).
From there, click the Section 2 tab to only view workers who have submitted Section 1, and are ready for Section 2 review:
Keep an eye on the Start Date values to ensure that section 2 is being completed within three days of that start date.
Section 2 statuses
If you have enabled multiple completion methods for section 2, then each completion method will show up as a different Section 2 status in the I-9 worker table:
Pending Section 2:
This means that the authorized representative option can be utilized by the employee
See the instructions here for steps that the employee and their authorized representative will follow
If it is getting close to three days after their start date, send a message directly to the worker by:
Clicking on their name in the table to open their worker profile
Click Message and enter content of an email and/or SMS message about completing the I-9 Section 2 form > click Send
Pending Section 2 (Admin Only):
This means that you, as the employer, must complete Section 2; the authorized representative workflow is not available
See the instructions here for what to do as the employer
Completing Section 2 as the Employer
Pending Section 2 (Admin Only)
To start the Section 2 workflow for workers in this status, click the Manage button for the worker whose I-9 forms you’ll be reviewing. This will open up their I-9 documentation window, where you can review the Section 1 form that was submitted.
From there, click Complete Section 2 to open the Complete I-9 window:
This window shows the submitted Section 1 form, as well as the supporting documents that the employee submitted as part of their Section 1 flow.
Section 2 requires you to do the following:
Validate that all required fields have been filled out, including the employee’s signatures
If a preparer or translator was used, verify that they have also signed the form on the same day as the employee
If you use E-Verify, the employee’s Social Security Number must be filled out
Review the provided documents to ensure that they are unexpired, and appear to be genuine/related to the employee
Fountain offers two ways to validate documents with the employee:
Standard I-9: Using our standard scheduler functionality, the employee schedules an on-site document review with you, the employer.
Remote I-9: Also utilizing our scheduler functionality, the employee schedules a live video call with you, the employer, to validate their documents.
Next Steps
✅ If everything looks good, click the Next button to continue.
On this next screen, you’ll enter your name and company information, and then electronically sign the document. Once that’s done, click Submit to complete the section 2 workflow, and automatically send the I-9 forms as a new case to E-Verify.
⛔ If you notice any errors in the Section 1 form, then the employee will need to redo the form.
To initiate that process, click the Reject button to reject the section 1 form. You will need to select a reason for rejection from the list presented in the pop-up, and confirm.
This will then:
Email the worker notifying them of the Section 1 rejection, along with your selected rejection reason(s).
Reset the worker’s I-9 task in their worker portal to incomplete, requiring them to fill it out again
Reset their I-9 status in the I-9 center to Pending Section 1
Authorized Representative Workflow
Worker Portal Workflow
If an employee chooses to utilize the authorized representative option for completing section 2, then they will be able to easily do so within their worker portal as part of the Fountain Smart I-9 method.
As soon as Section 1 is submitted, the worker can immediately being the Section 2 authorized representative workflow below within the same I-9 worker portal task. This smart task guides your employees through each step of the process.
Choosing an authorized representative
When choosing an authorized representative, your employees can choose anyone other than themselves (such as a family member, friend, etc). The authorized representative must also:
Be 18 years of age of older
Physically be with the employee in order to review their documents
Have a mobile device with web access
These reminders will be shown to the employee as soon as they start this process.
Completing the section 2 process:
Once your employee has chosen an authorized representative and is in person with them, they can complete the following steps within their worker portal I-9 task [3]:
First, they will be asked to enable location sharing with the Fountain I-9 Center, so that Fountain I-9 can confirm compliance with the employee & authorized rep being in the same location
Next, the employee will enter the authorized representative’s cell phone number.
This will send the rep an SMS with a direct link to the Fountain I-9 Center authorized representative workflow, including helpful instructions and a video explaining their role in this process
The authorized representative will read and agree to a perjury clause, asking them to sign off on the documents only if they believe the documents are genuine and related to the employee
The authorized representative will then also enable location sharing, which Fountain I-9 will compare to the employee’s location (from step #1)
If these locations do not match, the process will be stopped until Fountain I-9 can confirm that they are in the same location
If they are in the same location, the authorized representative will then be shown photos of the documents that the employee submitted in Section 1.
They will review the physical copies of the employee’s document to verify that it matches the photos shown
Once they’e confirmed this, the authorized representative will:
Indicate if the document matches the photo, appears genuine, and relates to the employee
Enter their first & last name, and
Electronically sign and submit their section 2 review
➡️ If the authorized representative approves the document(s), once they sign and submit the form, a new case will automatically be created and sent to E-Verify with the Section 1 and Section 2 information.
↪️ If the authorized representative rejects the document(s) for any reason, there are two suggested follow-up options:
Restart the I-9 and request a new submission from the worker, with the correct document(s) this time.
As the employer, click on Complete I-9 Section 2 in the WX I-9 Center, uploading new relevant document(s) and editing information as needed to complete the form that way.
Audit trail
You as the employer can also view the filled-in I-9 form and an audit trail of Section 2 activities directly in the I-9 center. To do so, click Manage for the employee from the I-9 Center table > Take Action on I-9 > View Audit Events
The audit trail includes the following information:
The name of the authorized representative
IP addresses and telephone numbers of the employee and authorized rep
Dates & times of each action
Other helpful actions & tips
Additional actions
There are a few additional action items that might be relevant to you on each employee’s I-9 management screen, once they’re in a status of Section 2 Pending:
Open PDF: Opens a PDF of the Section 1 form in a new tab
First Day of Employment: Can edit the worker’s start date right from here, or select a reason from the dropdown indicating why the form is late
Edit Documents: Click the Edit buttons directly on the document files to rotate or crop them
Edit Documentation: Allows you to replace the uploaded document files completely, or edit the employee-entered document information (such as Issuing Authority, Document Number, and Expiration Date)
Retaining forms [2]
Once both sections have been verified & completed, these documents (including copies or images of the employee-provided documents) must be kept on file for as long as the employee works for the company, and for a period of time after.
If the U.S. government requests an inspection of your employee’s I-9 documents, you must provide them within three business days.
If the employee worked for less than two years, retain their forms for three years to the day after their first day of employment
If the employee worked for more than two years, this timeframe goes down to one year after their first day
Sources and Additional Resources
[1] Hiring Sites: definitions and overview of what hiring sites are, and the role they play in I-9
[2] Remote Examination of Documents: USCIS website outlining employer requirements if remote examination of documents (”alternative procedure”) is used
[3] WorkBright authorized rep workflow: Website for WorkBright, our I-9 partner, outlining the workflow for I-9 and the authorized representative (includes a helpful video)
[4] Retaining Forms: information on how to retain I-9 forms, and for how long
Here's a video showing the Section 2 flow:
Related Articles
⬅️ Previous article: I-9 Section 1 Workflow
➡️ Next article: I-9 Scheduling Integrations & Calendar Setup