i9 Intelligence vs. Gusto

The I-9 is one form in a payroll system

Gusto is payroll, benefits, and onboarding for small and growing businesses, and the Form I-9 rides along in the onboarding packet. That's convenient. It also means the I-9 gets the attention of one form among many, from a company whose support team is built around payroll.

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. Gusto stores your I-9s and lets you download them in bulk once a day, and its Premium plan includes access to HR experts for general questions. Gusto's help center also says corrections to an I-9 happen outside Gusto, with the fixed form uploaded, while ICE's August 2026 fact sheet calls for electronic I-9s with a compliant audit trail. 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

Gusto's support team handles payroll and HR questions, and Premium adds a dedicated support team. 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. Calls to us go to the I-9 compliance team, who have handled exactly these cases since 1998.

How E-Verify works in Gusto now

Gusto now submits E-Verify cases for employers who are already enrolled, at $5 per case on top of its $20 remote I-9 add-on on Simple and Plus, and Premium includes both. On Gusto's onboarding screen, E-Verify sits on the path where the new hire picks their own reviewer, so hires a manager verifies in person still go through e-verify.gov by hand. The add-on also only works going forward, since except for federal contractors with the E-Verify contract clause, E-Verify doesn't allow cases on people who were already employed before the company enrolled. In i9 Intelligence, E-Verify is included on every hire, whoever completes Section 2, and we can enroll you and act as your E-Verify employer agent at no extra cost. Our Gusto and E-Verify guide has the state-by-state map.

The Premium question

Gusto doesn't sell remote I-9 as a line item. It includes remote checks on Premium, which costs $10 more per employee per month than Plus, plus a $100 higher base fee. That's paying by headcount for a form feature when I-9 is the only reason you're looking at Premium.

At 100 hires a year, Gusto's remote I-9 and E-Verify add-ons come to $2,500 on top of payroll, and the Premium upgrade adds about $1,100 a month for a 100-person team. i9 Intelligence costs less than half of the add-on route, with E-Verify and friends-and-family verification included.

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 accessible for as long as each one must be kept. Gusto lets you download them in bulk, and we bring them into i9 Intelligence so every form sits in one searchable place with its retention date tracked.

Remote hires

Gusto's remote tool has the new hire pick their own reviewer, often a family member, for $20 a check unless you're on Premium. On i9 Intelligence, that friends-and-family path is included in every plan, or our US-based team completes Section 2 by video where the hiring site is enrolled in E-Verify (USCIS).