How to Help a Spanish or Mandarin-Speaking Employee With I-9 Section 1 (Legally)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.