Document verification overview

Document Verification automates the screening of supporting documentation submitted with Form I-9. It uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract document details and applies a range of advanced verification checks to support enhanced I-9 compliance. This is a paid feature available for all I-9 clients. Reach out to your account executive if you don’t have access to this feature.

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Overview

Document verification does the following:

1. Guides the employee through the document upload process and uses OCR that to lift the document numbers automatically to reduce errors
2. Verifies the work authorization document(s) presented match the selected document(s) from Lists A, B, and/or C
3. Confirms work authorization document(s) image is clear, legible, and fully captured within the frame, including all required elements

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Verified documents

Symmetry’s document verification runs a variety of checks on the following documents when an employee completes Section 1 of the Form I-9:

• List A: US Passport, Passport Card, Permanent Resident Card (I-551)
• List B: Driver’s License Issued by State, State Issued ID Card
• List C: US Social Security Card

The list above represents approximately 90% of the documents commonly used to verify citizenship status using Form I-9 through Symmetry.

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Employee experience

Once the employee selects their List A, B and/or C documents, Symmetry will begin the Document Verification process of guiding the employee through capturing the photos. Once documentation is uploaded, the document verification process begins automatically. If a document fails verification, the employee can still complete Section 1 and, if using an Authorized Representative, proceed with Section 2. The verification status will be visible to the company’s administrator within the embedded employer experience for any required follow-up.

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Verification checks

Each uploaded document is put through a series of automated checks. Which checks apply depends on the document presented. Some checks apply only to particular documents:

• Double-side detection. For documents requiring a front and a back, confirms two distinct sides were uploaded rather than the same side twice.
• Barcode detection. For a driver’s license or state-issued ID, confirms a barcode is present and can be decoded.
• Image metadata detection. For a Permanent Resident Card, flags signs of photo editing that may indicate alteration.
• Social Security card checks. Confirms the key data can be read and that the card is an unrestricted card.

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Managing document verification

After document verification is complete, administrators can review the following results:

• Verified
• Unable to Verify
• Reviewed by Admin

Within the employer embedded mode, administrators can see and filter for verification status across all I-9 management tabs. Please note that these statuses are not a reflection of acceptance or rejection of the I-9 submission itself, nor are they linked to E-Verify statuses. Rather, they provide additional insight into the enhanced document review process and allow HR admins additional insight into documents submitted.

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Verified

If the document submission from the employee is verified, it will appear in the applicable I-9 forms tab with a ‘Verified’ tag (indicated in green). There is no additional action required for verified submissions. The details of the verification can be viewed by clicking on the ‘Verified’ badge. These results can also be seen with the Form I-9 submission.

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Unable to verify

An administrator may need to take action when a document fails document verification. Administrators can review all failed verification results within the applicable I-9 forms tabs with the “Unable to Verify” status. To review the results, an administrator should click on the “Unable to Verify” status to see the document and result details. Review the results and document, input your findings in the optional comments box, and select the “Mark as Reviewed” button (indicated in blue). Once the administrator reviews the document verification results, the status will be updated to “Reviewed by Admin.” This review is only a confirmation that you have reviewed the document and does not update the Form I-9 itself. If there are additional steps you need to make on the submission, they must be done on the Form I-9 (for example, accept or reject).