HR and your I-9 software handle the process — completing forms, flagging blanks, running E-Verify. Neither handles the legal liability, which is a separate discipline. And as of March 2026, ICE treats electronic-system deficiencies as substantive violations carrying penalties up to $2,861 per form. Here's what an attorney does that software and HR can't — and why a clean-looking I-9 isn't the same as a defensible one.