Of verifying that your employee can legally work? Yes, I think so - I'm not in HR, but is that not the specific reason they always take 1 or 2 forms of ID and fill out paperwork when starting a new job? One form to prove your identity, and the other to prove you can legally work? (Or a passport for both)
I was not thinking this to be a payroll position. Just a consulting / one-off transaction. In those situations, I haven't heard of any verification of immigration documents... maybe its common, I don't know.