Is it required to give a photocopy of a green card to an employer in order to fill Form I-9, or is a driver’s license and social security card enough?
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Is it required to give a photocopy of a green card to an employer in order to fill Form I-9, or is a driver’s license and social security card enough?
I am applying for a job but the employer is asking me to submit a copy of my green card. I asked the employer and he said that in order to file Form I-9 I must send him copy of my green card. I told him that I’ve never given a copy of green card but I have given copy of my driver’s license and social security card. But the employer insist in having green card. By the way I have a green card. I checked Form I-9 and it says we can use either green card or driver’s license along with social security card. Also, I want to know if it is enough to give just the information and not the photocopy?
Asked on April 17, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
The options you are given on the I-9 are what you should be allowed to provide. It seems to me there is a reason for this question and this insistence. You may wish to tread lightly and explain that you are able to show your drivers license and your social security card. The only time I see this as an issue, wherein a Green Card would be required to be shown, is if you are required to have legal residency here and this is a security matter. Nowaways, drivers licenses seem not to be indicative of legal residency so there may be a concern of ensuring the employer is not hiring someone who has no legal right to work here. If you have a Social Security Card and a Drivers License and have indicated you are a Green Card employer, I see the employer requiring to explain to you why it needs the Green Card itself. Employers cannnot specify which forms of identification it requires because that is a prohibition on the Form I-9 itself. So in most circumstances, the employer would be breaking the law; again as long as it is not one specifically requiring U.S. Citizenship for security reasons (think security clearance and such).
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Under federal regulations per the Homeland Security Act, an employee is deemed to be in compliance with Form I-9 by completing the form, signing it, dating it and attaching two of the following documents to it: social security card, driver's license or green card (all copies).
The employee has the option with respect to the documents he or she attaches verifying his or her right to be in the United States and have a job here.
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