i9 Intelligence vs. ADP

The I-9 is an add-on to a payroll system

ADP is a payroll company first, and its I-9 lives inside ADP Onboarding, where ADP's own Marketplace listing says the I-9 is sold separately. That makes it one form among direct deposit, tax withholding, and company policies, supported by teams whose main job is payroll. The ADP customers we talk to describe the I-9 problems that follow from that setup. Remote hires get a Section 2 nobody is sure how to finish, new hires who can't get through the onboarding portal end up in the office anyway, and I-9s end up split between ADP, paper, and older systems.

When ICE asks for your I-9s

A Notice of Inspection gives an employer at least three business days to produce its Forms I-9 (8 CFR 274a.2(b)(2)(ii)). What matters then is whether every form is complete and correct, whether the audit trail holds up, and whether someone who has been through an inspection is on your side. ADP stores your electronic I-9s, and the review, the corrections, and the conversation with ICE stay with you and your attorney. Our compliance team has helped employers through ICE audits since 1998. We pull your I-9s, review them with you before they go out, and help you correct what the rules allow. Our account reviews also flag open Section 2s, unresolved E-Verify cases, and forms past their retention date long before an audit.

Who answers the hard questions

The questions behind most I-9 violations aren't platform questions. A TPS holder whose country's designation was terminated or extended this year, an asylee or refugee presenting a Form I-94 instead of a card, a work permit covered by an automatic extension, a receipt, or an expiring document that has to be reverified on Supplement B all need someone who knows the rules. ADP's support is built around payroll and HR. Calls to us go to the I-9 compliance team, who have handled exactly these cases since 1998.

The I-9s you already have

Changing I-9 systems doesn't end your duty to the old forms. Under 8 CFR 274a.2(e)(4)(ii), existing Forms I-9 have to stay in a system that remains fully accessible for as long as each one must be kept. We migrate older ADP and paper I-9s into i9 Intelligence, including older form editions, Supplement B history, and the audit trail, so every form sits in one searchable place with its retention date tracked. If you'd rather leave the ADP forms where they are for now, new hires can start in i9 Intelligence right away and the older forms can move later.

Remote hires

ADP doesn't supply anyone to examine documents, so a remote hire means naming an authorized representative near the new hire or reviewing documents yourself over live video under the DHS alternative procedure, which requires E-Verify (USCIS). On i9 Intelligence, a manager or representative you choose completes Section 2 at no extra cost, or our US-based compliance team does it by video. For how new hires get from ADP to us, see our guide to the HRIS integration gap.