The purpose of this form is to hold all U.S. companies responsible to verify the employment eligibility and identity of all employees hired to work in the U.S. Companies are required to complete Employment Eligibility Verification forms (Form I-9) for all employees, including international interns. Form I-9 serves the purpose of both identifying the potential employee and confirming his or her eligibility to work in the U.S.
Upon arrival the Customs and Border Patrol officers will complete an online version of the J1 holder’s I-94 giving them clearance to enter the US. After they arrive in the US, they will need to print out the I-94 in order to apply for their social security number. They can retrieve the I-94 here: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/. The J1 intern enters the information (exactly) as it appears on their passport into this online site and it generates their I-94 number.
