Form I-9 for interns and volunteers: when unpaid means no form, what counts as remuneration, and student interns

Form I-9 is required for anyone you hire to perform labor or services in the United States "in return for wages or other remuneration," so a paid intern completes one by the first day of work like any new hire. A truly unpaid intern or volunteer who receives nothing of value does not: the current Form I-9 instructions (edition 01/20/25, as of November 2026) say the term employee "does not include individuals who do not receive any form of remuneration (e.g., volunteers)." The catch is the word remuneration, which USCIS defines as "anything of value given in exchange for labor or services, including food and lodging," so a stipend, free housing or meals can turn an unpaid intern or volunteer into an employee for Form I-9.

Whether an intern must be paid at all is a separate wage-and-hour question with its own test, covered in are unpaid internships legal? This page is about the immigration form: who needs one, when, and what to do with students on visas and minors.

Does an unpaid intern need a Form I-9?

Two tests apply, and they answer different questions:

1. Must the intern be paid? That is the Fair Labor Standards Act question. The Labor Department's Fact Sheet #71 (updated January 2018) applies the "primary beneficiary test" at for-profit employers. If the answer is that the intern is really an employee who must be paid, pay them and complete Form I-9 from their first day.
2. Does the intern receive anything of value for the work? That is the Form I-9 question. 8 CFR 274a.1 defines an employee as someone who "provides services or labor for an employer for wages or other remuneration," and a hire as "the actual commencement of employment of an employee for wages or other remuneration." No pay and nothing of value means no hire, so no Form I-9 and no E-Verify case.

An internship can be lawfully unpaid under the wage rules and still need a Form I-9. Fact Sheet #71 says unpaid internships at public-sector and nonprofit charitable organizations are generally permissible where the intern volunteers without expecting pay, yet if such a program houses its interns for free in exchange for their service, they are employees for Form I-9.

What counts as remuneration?

E-Verify's answer puts it plainly: "An intern may be considered a paid employee if he or she receives payment or anything of value, which could include free or reduced housing, meals, etc." It then tells employers to check with counsel, which is the right step for any arrangement in the two "not addressed" rows. Apply one rule to every intern and volunteer in the same program, whatever their citizenship or national origin.

When must a paid intern complete Form I-9?

The same deadlines as any hire, from M-274 Section 2.0:

• Section 1 by the first day of work, and not before the intern has accepted the offer.
• Section 2 within three business days of the first day: an intern who starts on a Monday must have Section 2 completed by Thursday.
• Short placements. If the intern will work fewer than three business days, both sections are due on the first day.
• Remote interns. Document review by video is allowed only for employers enrolled in E-Verify and in good standing, at their E-Verify hiring sites, and it must be offered consistently to all employees at that site, or to all remote hires there (M-274 Section 4.5).

Interns who receive offers weeks before they start often complete Section 1 early, which is allowed once the offer is accepted. What recruiters can do before and after the offer is in Form I-9 timing in hiring.

When does a volunteer become an employee for Form I-9?

On the day they begin working for wages or other remuneration. The regulation's definition of hire is "the actual commencement of employment," so the clock starts with the first paid day, not with the first day they ever helped out. Common conversions:

• A long-time volunteer is offered a paid part-time role.
• A nonprofit starts giving regular volunteers a stipend, gift cards for shifts or free housing.
• An unpaid intern is converted to a paid hire before the program ends.

Example (made-up dates): a museum volunteer accepts a paid weekend position on Thursday, June 3, 2027 and works the first paid shift on Monday, June 7, 2027. Section 1 is due by June 7 and Section 2 by Thursday, June 10. The months of unpaid volunteering before that do not need a form.

What about international students and minors?

Interns on student or exchange visas complete Form I-9 under their own document rules once they are paid or receive anything of value:

• F-1 students on curricular practical training. M-274 Section 13.1 says a CPT student with a Form I-94 "must also have Form I-20 ... endorsed with employment authorization by the designated school official." OPT students present an EAD. See Form I-9 for F-1 OPT students.
• J-1 trainees and interns. They work under a DS-2019 and a training plan; see Form I-9 for J-1 exchange visitors.
• Unpaid placements for students on visas. Whether a student may take an unpaid internship without school authorization is a question for the school's designated school official or responsible officer; the answer does not change the Form I-9 test above.
• High school interns. Minors who cannot present a List B identity document have their own procedure, with a parent or guardian completing Section 1 and Supplement A; see Form I-9 for minors.

Who completes the form when someone else places the intern?

The employer is the "person or entity ... who engages the services or labor of an employee ... for wages or other remuneration," and in contract labor it is "the independent contractor or contractor and not the person or entity using the contract labor" (8 CFR 274a.1(g)). M-274 Section 2.0 tells businesses not to complete Form I-9 for people "employed by a contractor providing contract services (such as employee leasing or temporary agencies)." So:

• A staffing agency that employs and pays the intern completes the form; your company does not. See Form I-9 for staffing agencies.
• If a university, foundation or nonprofit program pays a stipend while the intern works at your site, the answer depends on who engages and pays the intern. Put in the placement agreement which party completes and keeps the Form I-9.
• A person you call an independent contractor is excluded only if they really are one; 8 CFR 274a.1(j) decides that case by case, whatever the person calls themselves.

Do interns and volunteers go through E-Verify?

E-Verify's answer is: "You may only create an E-Verify case for an employee who receives payment or remuneration and for whom you complete a Form I-9." So paid interns at an E-Verify hiring site get a case like any other new hire, and unpaid volunteers and interns who receive nothing of value do not. Running a volunteer through E-Verify "just to be safe" is not an option the program allows.

What happens when interns come back?

Under M-274 Section 6.2, if you rehire someone "within three years from the date you completed their previous Form I-9," you may complete a rehire block on Supplement B or a new Form I-9. A returning summer intern who is still authorized to work needs no new documents; one whose work authorization document has expired presents a current List A or List C document. The seasonal version of this rule is in Form I-9 for seasonal and returning workers. Keep each form for three years after the hire date or one year after employment ends, whichever is later.

An intern and volunteer Form I-9 checklist

• Decide the wage question first; any intern who must be paid is a hire.
• List what each program gives participants: pay, stipend, housing, meals, gift cards. Anything of value for the work means Form I-9.
• Section 1 by the first paid day, Section 2 within three business days, both on day one for stays under three business days.
• Use the student's own document rules for F-1 and J-1 interns, and the minor procedure where it fits.
• Put in writing who completes the form when a school, program or agency pays the intern.
• E-Verify cases for paid interns only.
• Same rule for every participant in a program, regardless of citizenship or national origin.