I'm not sure why it's behaving that way for you.  I can fill out the downloaded form manually and in Workflow without any issues. I can even fill it out on a computer that doesn't have Adobe Acrobat; it just opens it in Chrome and I can fill it out.

Weird. Can you have your reseller open a support case and attach your copy?

Mike,

I am finding that I can only fill it out from the government website. If you download it, then open it from your local disk, you can continue to fill out the downloaded copy but then it tells you that you are not allowed to save. It seems the IRS is imposing these restricitons, possibly wanting all users to fill out their forms only on the official website.

If this really is the case, then in the past we have directed users to the website where the form must be filled, and ask them to upload a copy using the File Upload so we can route it through the business process

What I'm doing in workflow is copying the blank form to a new folder using Move Entry, then I use Fill Out PDF to fill out the copy I just created.  It seems to work fine within workflow other than the State field.

1. Download I-9 from the government website and store in a Windows folder on the LF server.
2. Also copy the file to a repository folder so Workflow can have a blank copy to work with.
3. Use Move Entry to copy the form from the repository folder to the target folder.
4. Use the copy in the Windows folder as the "Master" copy in the Fill Out PDF activity
5. Use the copy in the target folder as the Entry to receive the values from the Fill Out PDF activity.

Ok so it does work, I thought the paper version was the correct version to use. It just seems something changed with the state field, that is causing it to pick one up from the visual. So it might require Adobe Pro to view the details of the configuration of that field.

@████████.  My VP has Adobe Pro and looked at the form.  He says it's locked down and he cannot see field properties.

There are features of Adobe Pro that I am not familiar with, what if you start with the non-fillable form, then create the fillable form in the way you want it, without all the locks and impediments?

I'm only finding two version of the I-9 and both appear to be fillable.  There's an i-9.pdf and an i-9-paper-version.pdf.  Both are fillable and have drop-downs for the State field.

Would it be appropriate to open a case with Laserfiche for this? 

I think if I am understanding right, the government enabled a lock to keep people from filling this out anywhere but the government's website. If that is the case, it might require unlocking it with Adobe Pro or building your own fields on top of the paper form.

I don't think that's correct.  W4 and I-9 forms are often filled out after being downloaded and they can be saved after being filled out as well.  My workflow works great for filling out the forms and saving them; there are just some glitches that need to be understood and corrected.  With the I-9 form it is the State field that is glitchy.  With the W4 it is the filing status check boxes.

The "locks" on the forms are meant to keep people from changing the form itself; they do not prevent you from downloading it and filling it out on your computer.

I downloaded the form, filed in my name, and when I tried to save it told me that I could not save. Are you sure there are no locks on it? This is something I can not see as I don't have Adobe Pro

I was able to fill the one called i-9-paper-version.pdf using Adobe Acrobat X Standard (not Pro).  I was not able to fill that version using just regular Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.  However, I can use Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to fill the one called i-9.pdf and save it.  Try using the first link on the download page (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9 )

Your best bet is to download the paper form and run it through many of the online or software unlockers. Then set up all your own fields.

I tried running the paper version through a site ilovepdf.com which has something called a PDF Unlocker. Now I can open the file, enter data into the fields and save the file.

https://www.ilovepdf.com/unlock_pdf

Got it...I will try the PDF unlocker and hopefully that will fix the problem with the State field.

Interesting...after unlocking the PDF I can edit it in Acrobat X Standard.  The State field was defined to export values incorrectly.  I can delete all the values and probably just insert what I need in Workflow.