If you hire in construction, agriculture, or hospitality, you have almost certainly handed Form I-9 to a worker who does not read English well and watched them freeze at Section 1. Here is the part most employers get wrong: you are allowed to help them understand it, but you cannot fill it in for them, and the moment you translate any of it you take on a formal role with its own signature. This guide shows you how to help a Spanish or Mandarin-speaking employee complete I-9 Section 1 correctly, and gives you a trilingual reference to hand them.
Quick note: Form I-9 is officially titled the Employment Eligibility Verification form. If you have seen it called that, it is the same document.
1 The rule employers miss
The employee must complete and sign Section 1 themselves. You may not enter their answers for them. And if anyone, including you, a manager, or a coworker, translates Section 1 or helps fill it in, that person becomes a preparer and/or translator and must complete and sign Supplement A of Form I-9. You keep Supplement A with the I-9.
We act as your authorized representative and complete Section 2 in person anywhere in the five boroughs, which works for any employer. If your company is enrolled in E-Verify, we can also complete it by live video nationwide. Same-day signed PDF, from $65 per employee.
2 What Section 1 actually asks
Section 1 is short: legal name, address, date of birth, optional Social Security number, optional email and phone, and one sworn attestation of status (citizen, noncitizen national, lawful permanent resident, or a noncitizen authorized to work). The status attestation is the part workers most often misread, which is exactly where clear translation helps.
For a plain-language walkthrough of every box, see our companion post on documents that need notarizing and grab the trilingual helper below.
3 Spanish-speaking employees
USCIS publishes an official Spanish version of Form I-9 and its instructions. Here is the catch on Spanish I-9 instructions that trips people up: only employers in Puerto Rico may actually complete the Spanish form. Everywhere else, including all of New York, the Spanish form is a translation aid only. Your employee reads the Spanish version to understand it, then completes and signs the English Form I-9, which is what you keep.
- Give the worker the official USCIS Spanish form to read alongside the English one
- They enter their answers on the English form
- If you or a bilingual coworker translated, sign Supplement A
4 Mandarin-speaking employees
Searching for a Chinese I-9 guide turns up almost nothing official, because USCIS does not publish a Chinese version of Form I-9. That leaves a real gap for Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking staff. The safe approach is the same in spirit: use a plain-language Chinese explanation so the worker understands each field, then have them complete and sign the English form. Any Chinese text is a comprehension aid, never a substitute for the official English I-9.
5 The translator certification, step by step
- The employee completes Section 1 in their own hand (with your spoken or written translation help)
- The employee signs and dates Section 1 themselves
- Whoever translated or helped completes Supplement A: their name, address, signature, and date
- You store Supplement A with that employee’s I-9
- More than one helper? Each signs a separate Supplement A. No helper? Leave Supplement A out entirely
6 Get the guide: The Multilingual I-9 Section 1 Helper
A clean, one-file reference that explains every Section 1 field in English, Spanish, and Mandarin, plus the translator rule and links to the official USCIS forms. Print it, hand it to a new hire, and keep your onboarding compliant.
The Multilingual I-9 Section 1 Helper
Every Section 1 field explained in English, Spanish, and Mandarin, plus the translator rule and links to the official USCIS forms. Instant PDF download.
7 When to hand it to a pro
Understanding Section 1 is one thing. Verifying documents in Section 2, meeting deadlines, and keeping a diverse workforce audit-ready is another. NotarEaseNYC handles I-9 employment verification as an authorized representative across all five boroughs, in person or remotely, so your paperwork is done right the first time.
Hiring a multilingual team in NYC?
Let us handle I-9 verification end to end, from Section 2 documents to audit-ready records.
No. The employee must enter and sign their own answers. You may translate and help, but then you must sign Supplement A.
Is there an official Spanish I-9?
Yes, but outside Puerto Rico it is only a translation aid. The employee still completes and signs the English form.
Is there an official Chinese I-9?
No. Use a plain-language Chinese explanation to help the worker understand, then have them complete the English form.
What is Supplement A?
The Preparer and/or Translator Certification. Anyone who helps complete or translate Section 1 signs it, and you keep it with the I-9.
More on I-9 verification: I-9 verification in NYC, what documents you need for I-9, and I-9 acceptable documents.
General educational information, not legal advice, based on Form I-9 edition 01/20/25. Rules change. Rely on the current official Form I-9, its instructions, and the M-274 Handbook for Employers at uscis.gov, and consult an attorney for specific situations.
8 Do not hand them the Spanish form
This one has become expensive, and most employers do not know it changed.
USCIS publishes a Spanish language Form I-9, and it may only be used for completion in Puerto Rico. Everywhere else in the United States, including New York, the employee completes the English form. The Spanish version is a translation aid to read alongside it, not a form to fill in and file.
Under the enforcement guidance ICE issued in March 2026, using the Spanish form outside Puerto Rico is treated as a substantive violation rather than a technical one. Substantive means there is no ten day window to fix it after an audit notice and the penalty applies immediately, currently in a range running from roughly $288 to $2,861 per form.
So the correct setup is the English form in front of the employee, the Spanish translation beside it for reference, and Supplement A completed if anyone helped or translated.
9 Supplement A, done properly
The rule is simple and constantly ignored. If anybody assisted the employee in completing or translating Section 1, that person completes and signs Supplement A, with their name and address, and it is retained with the I-9.
It applies to a manager, a coworker, a family member, a professional interpreter, and to you. It applies even where the help was five minutes of explaining one line. And it applies to each person who helped, so two helpers means two entries.
What it is not is an admission of anything. It is the record of who assisted, which is exactly what an auditor is looking for. The violation is not helping. It is helping invisibly.
10 Things not to say, even trying to be kind
Language assistance sits close to a discrimination line, and crossing it is easier than employers expect.
Do not tell the employee which documents to bring, and do not suggest that a particular document would be simpler. The choice is theirs from the lists, and steering it is document abuse.
Do not ask for immigration status, a work visa, or extra paperwork because somebody has an accent or completed the form slowly. Do not ask a non citizen for more documents than you would ask of anybody else.
Do not fill in a single box for them, however obvious the answer is. Read the question aloud, translate it if you can, and let them write it.
11 A setup that works on a busy site
Have the English form and the matching translation printed and stapled together, ready before the shift starts rather than found at the last minute.
Assign one person per site who understands Supplement A and let them handle assistance consistently, rather than whoever happens to be standing there. Keep blank Supplement A pages with the blank I-9 forms so nobody has to go looking.
Then check the completed Section 1 for the two things auditors hit most often: an unsigned attestation, and a missing date. Both are quick to catch on the day and neither is fixable later without penalty.
Where you would rather not carry this at all, we act as your authorized representative and complete Section 2 in person anywhere in the five boroughs.
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Do it over secure video in minutes, from any U.S. state. NotarEase NYC may earn a referral credit when you notarize through our partner, at no extra cost to you.
Also worth reading: E-Verify vs Form I-9, I-9 audits and ICE Notices of Inspection, reverification and Supplement B, and the three-day rule.