All new employees are required to complete a Form I-9 when they are hired. While many new employees do so with little thought, the consequences for foreign nationals of improperly completing the form can be disastrous, leading to serious immigration consequences. Some USCIS districts have been scouring I-9 forms to see if there are any problems that could amount to fraud, misrepresentation or worse.

Foreign nationals are reminded that when describing their immigration status, they should never check the “citizen” box on a Form I-9. Making a false claim to citizenship is a very serious immigration offense and could lead to a permanent bar to immigration. The citizen box should never be checked even if other options — “non-citizen national,” “permanent resident,” and “alien authorized to work” — are not applicable.