Your Form I-9 or Authorized Representative form says under review: what happens next

Applies to: US W-2 employees completing Form I-9 during onboarding. Form I-9 is an employment requirement, so independent contractors, Canadian T4 employees, and international workers do not complete one and will not see this step.

Summary: Under review means your Authorized Representative has submitted their part and our team is checking it. There is usually nothing for you to send. Refresh your session first, because a stale page is the most common false alarm, and contact us if the status has not moved by the next business day or your start date is close.

What the status actually means

Section 2 of Form I-9 has to be completed by another person who looks at your identification documents. When your Authorized Representative finishes their part through the secure link we emailed them, the form comes to us to check before your onboarding can move on. That waiting period is what under review describes. It is a normal step and it is not a judgement about your documents.

Check these yourself first

1. Refresh your session. Log out of app.ascen.com and back in, or reload the page. A status that changed on our side often does not appear in a browser session you already had open, and this explains a large share of stuck-looking steps.

2. Confirm your representative actually submitted. Ask them whether they reached the end and saw a confirmation. A form that was started but not submitted looks the same to you as one that is under review. See Troubleshooting Form I-9 Authorized Representative issues during onboarding.

3. Check that they received the link at all. If they never got it, see My Authorized Representative never received the email.

4. Check your email for anything from us naming a document to re-send. If nothing is there, you are waiting on us and not the other way around.

Can I work while it is under review

No. Ascen requires Form I-9 to be complete before your first day of work, which is stricter than the federal maximum, and the platform holds timesheets until it is. That is why a form sitting under review close to a start date is worth flagging to us early rather than waiting.

If it has not moved

Email support@ascen.com if the status is unchanged by the next business day, or sooner if you are due to start. Include your full name, your start date, and your representative's name, and say that your Form I-9 is sitting under review. Tell your staffing partner too, since they may need to move your start date while it clears.

If you need to change representative

You can switch to someone else rather than wait, for example if your first choice is unavailable or entered something incorrectly. See How do I change my I-9 Authorized Representative?. Remember that you cannot act as your own representative.

Related

Understanding the Form I-9 Authorized Representative Step · Understanding document requirements for Form I-9 and identity verification · How do I know when my onboarding is complete and I can start work?