The Form I-9 is required by federal law (8 U.S.C. § 1324a). Every U.S. employer must complete a Form I-9 for every employee hired after November 6, 1986. The I-9 verifies two things: the employee's identity, and their authorization to work in the United States. Failure to properly complete, retain, and produce I-9s can result in significant civil and criminal penalties.
USCIS created the requirement but has never given employers adequate tools to fulfill it correctly. E-Verify confirms whether a name and number match a government record — it does not verify that the person in front of you is who they claim to be. ICE has used I-9 paperwork deficiencies as enforcement tools during worksite inspections, penalizing employers for technical violations even when employees are lawfully authorized to work.
ZipID closes this gap — bringing genuine biometric identity verification, document authenticity analysis, automated compliance workflows, and a complete audit trail to the I-9 process.