Form I-9 for transferred employees: moves between locations, divisions and related companies
On this page
- Does a transferred employee need a new Form I-9?
- What counts as a transfer under the regulation?
- How do you move the Form I-9 with the employee?
- What about a move to a different company in the same group?
- Does a transfer trigger a new E-Verify case?
- Does a transfer change the retention date?
- Which "transfers" are really new hires?
- Common transfer mistakes
- Questions people ask
A transfer within the same employer is not a hire, so the employee does not complete a new Form I-9. Under 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(viii), a move from one distinct unit of an employer to another distinct unit of the same employer is continuing employment, and you may send the existing form to the receiving unit. A move to a related, successor or reorganized employer, such as the same employer at another location or a company that keeps staff after a reorganization, merger or sale, is also continuing employment, provided the new employer obtains and keeps the earlier records and Forms I-9. Neither kind of move calls for a new E-Verify case. That is the rule as of November 2026.
The practical work is moving the paper, or the electronic record, without losing a reverification date or a case number. Whole-company deals have their own options, covered in Form I-9 in mergers and acquisitions.
Not legal advice. This summarizes 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(viii) and (b)(2), the Handbook for Employers (M-274), Section 8.0 and Section 10.0, USCIS's continuing employment page, E-Verify's User Manual and FAQs, and FAR 52.222-54, as of November 2026. Whether a move between two legal entities qualifies as continuing employment is a question for counsel.
Does a transferred employee need a new Form I-9?
| Type of move | Form I-9 | E-Verify | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| To another location, branch or store of the same employer | Keep the existing form; you may move it to the receiving unit | No new case | 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(viii)(A)(6) and (7)(i) |
| To another division or business unit of the same employer, with or without a promotion, demotion or raise | Keep the existing form | No new case | 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(viii)(A)(2) and (6) |
| To an employer that keeps some or all of a previous employer's staff after a reorganization, merger or sale of stock or assets | Continuing employment if it obtains and keeps the earlier forms and records; or new forms for everyone | No case if continuing; cases for all within three business days if treated as new hires | 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(viii)(A)(7)(ii); M-274 Section 8.0; E-Verify FAQ |
| Between employers in the same multi-employer association, same bargaining unit and agreement | Continuing employment; the designated agent records each hire and termination date | See the union page | 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(viii)(A)(7)(iii); see Form I-9 for union hiring halls |
| A temp moved between clients by the same staffing agency | The agency's existing form; it follows the hire, not the assignment | No new case | Form I-9 for staffing agencies |
| An "H-1B transfer" to a different company | A new hire for that company: new Form I-9 | New case if the company uses E-Verify | H-1B transfer hiring |
What counts as a transfer under the regulation?
Paragraph (A)(6) of 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(viii) covers an individual who "transfers from one distinct unit of an employer to another distinct unit of the same employer," and adds that "the employer may transfer the individual's Form I-9 to the receiving unit." Paragraph (A)(7) covers continuing employment with a related, successor or reorganized employer and says that includes the same employer at another location, an employer that continues to employ some or all of a previous employer's workforce after a corporate reorganization, merger, or sale of stock or assets, and employers in the same multi-employer association.
Every continuing-employment situation also carries the test in paragraph (B): the employer must be able to show the individual expected to resume employment at all times and that the expectation was reasonable. A planned transfer with no gap rarely raises the question. A move with a break in between, where the employee leaves one job and starts the other weeks later, does; apply the factors described in Form I-9 for employees returning from leave.
How do you move the Form I-9 with the employee?
- Name the legal employer before and after. If it is the same employer, the form simply moves. If it changes, read the next section first.
- Gather the whole record. Sections 1 and 2, every Supplement A and B page, any document copies you made, and the E-Verify case number. The E-Verify MOU, Article II.A.7, requires that number on the form or on an attached printout. USCIS's questions and answers say that once you make document copies you must keep them with the forms or the employee's records.
- Review it before it moves. A transfer is a good moment to find and correct errors; see Form I-9 corrections. Do not complete a new Section 2 or ask for documents; neither the regulation nor M-274 Section 8.0 calls for either.
- Carry the reverification date over. Put any Section 1 authorization date and any List A or List C expiration date into the receiving unit's tracking; see I-9 reverification.
- Move it securely, or keep it central. M-274 Section 10.0 lets you keep forms on-site or off-site as long as you can present them within three business days of an inspection request. A central file with an index of each employee's current location works as well as physically moving the form; see I-9 notice of inspection.
- Leave the retention date alone. The transfer is not a hire and does not end employment; see below.
What about a move to a different company in the same group?
The regulation conditions continuing employment with a related, successor or reorganized employer on that employer obtaining and maintaining the previous employer's records and Forms I-9. For a reorganization, merger or sale, M-274 Section 8.0 gives two options: treat all the employees as new hires and complete new forms, entering the effective date of the deal as the first day of employment, or treat them all as continuing and keep the previous owner's forms, in which case you are liable for any errors or omissions on them.
E-Verify's FAQ on mergers and acquisitions says an employer that treats employees continuing with a related, successor or reorganized employer as new hires must complete new Forms I-9 and create E-Verify cases for all of them within three business days of their first day, and must do so for all, without regard to actual or perceived citizenship status or national origin.
A move to a separately incorporated affiliate that does not come out of a reorganization, merger or sale is not spelled out in the regulation's list. Ask counsel. Treating it as a hire by the new entity, with a new form, is the route that does not depend on the old paperwork.
Does a transfer trigger a new E-Verify case?
- Not for a continuing employee. The User Manual, Section 1.5, ties cases to newly hired employees, and E-Verify's FAQ says only federal contractors with the FAR E-Verify clause may verify existing employees.
- Not when the receiving site participates and the sending site did not. E-Verify's enrollment guide says employers choose participation hiring site by hiring site and must verify all newly hired employees at a participating site. A transferee is not newly hired there.
- Federal contractors moving someone onto a covered contract. FAR 52.222-54(b) sets the deadline for an employee assigned to the contract: 30 days after assignment, or 90 days after award or enrollment, whichever is later. Paragraph (d)(1) says no additional verification is needed for an employee the contractor already verified through E-Verify. See E-Verify for existing employees.
- Moves into a state with its own E-Verify law. Check how that law treats current employees on the state's page in E-Verify requirements by state.
Does a transfer change the retention date?
No. Under 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(2), you keep each Form I-9 for three years after the date of hire or one year after employment ends, whichever is later, and M-274 Section 10.0 says to calculate that only when the employee stops working for you. A transfer within the same employer is neither a hire nor an end of employment, so the first day of employment on the original form still governs. When a related employer keeps the previous employer's forms, those forms are part of the records the regulation says it must maintain. The formula is worked through in I-9 retention rules.
Which "transfers" are really new hires?
- An H-1B transfer to another company. The new employer files its own petition and the person is its new hire.
- Temp-to-hire. When a client takes a temp onto its own payroll, the client is a new employer and completes Form I-9.
- A resignation followed by a hire elsewhere in the group, outside a reorganization, merger or sale: see the previous section.
- Employees arriving from an overseas office. M-274 Section 2.0 says not to complete Form I-9 for employees who are not physically working in the United States, so there is usually no form to move. Ask immigration counsel how to document the start of U.S. work.
Common transfer mistakes
| Mistake | What the rules say |
|---|---|
| Completing a new Form I-9 at every new site | Not required for a transfer within the same employer; the existing form may move |
| Creating an E-Verify case at the receiving site | A transferee is an existing employee; only federal contractors with the FAR clause verify existing employees |
| Leaving the form at the old site with no index | Forms must be producible within three business days of an inspection request |
| Losing the reverification date in the handoff | Reverification is still due by the expiration date |
| Treating a move to a related company as continuing without getting the earlier forms | The regulation conditions it on obtaining and maintaining them |
| Completing new forms only for transferees who are not U.S. citizens | E-Verify's guidance says new-hire treatment must apply to all, without regard to citizenship or national origin |
Questions people ask
Does an employee who transfers to another office need a new Form I-9?
No. 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(viii) treats a transfer from one distinct unit of an employer to another distinct unit of the same employer as continuing employment, not a hire. The employee keeps the existing Form I-9, and the regulation lets you move that form to the receiving unit.
Do I create a new E-Verify case when an employee transfers to a site that uses E-Verify?
No. A transferred employee is an existing employee, and E-Verify does not allow employers, other than federal contractors with the FAR E-Verify clause, to verify existing employees. Participating hiring sites create cases for newly hired employees. A federal contractor that moves an existing employee onto a covered contract follows the clause's assignment deadlines instead.
Does a transfer to a subsidiary or sister company need a new Form I-9?
It can be continuing employment if the move fits the regulation's related, successor or reorganized employer rule, such as a corporate reorganization, merger or sale of stock or assets, and the new employer obtains and keeps the earlier Forms I-9 and records. The new employer may instead treat the employees as new hires, but then E-Verify says to complete new forms, and create cases, for all of them.
Does a transfer restart the Form I-9 retention period?
No. Retention is three years after the date of hire or one year after employment ends, whichever is later, and USCIS says to calculate it only when the employee stops working for you. A transfer within the same employer is not a hire and does not end employment, so the original hire date still applies.