U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently posted notice advising employers of a scam operation requesting I-9 forms. USCIS, as well as any other investigating government agency, will never request I-9 forms by email. There are reports of recent scam operations that appear to come from a government email address requesting I-9 forms for recently hired employees. Employers should delete any emails requesting emails or uploaded copies of I-9 forms. The full government warning states:

Scam Alert: USCIS Does Not Request Forms I-9 By Email

USCIS has learned that employers have received scam emails requesting Form I-9 information be sent to the fraudulent email address news@uscis.gov. You should neither respond to these emails nor click the links in them. Employers are not required to submit Forms I-9 to USCIS.

Employers are required to prepare a Form I-9 on behalf of every new employee. The employee must prepare section one of the form on or before the first day of employment, and employers must review the supporting documents and complete section two by the third day of employment. Employers are required to retain the I-9 form, but do not file it with USCIS. Audits of I-9s are conducted by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Department of Labor and are always accompanied by written notice from the agency.

We recently posted an explanation of the new Form I-9, which is required for all employees hired on or after Sept.18, 2017.