Is English not his first language?

"he does work for" means what? With only the ITIN, he would not be qualified to work for them. To work for them, they would be asking for I-9; is it possible that might have sounded somewhat like FIAN to him?

"He ask me if he should or not."

Because we know there is something a bit shady with their relationship and want to skirt the requirements knowingly?

w-9 is a document berification form. is on irs forms.

banks or any institution request that form. to report interest income. to irs.

or person that will give a 1099 misc . to a self contractor . request that form .

only  request social security number

not famliar with the form. all banks request for that form.

if social security is not present.

is one of irs form w-9

"or person that will give a 1099 misc . to a self contractor . request that form ."

New for 2020, the form will be 1099-NEC. It used to be NEC, for Non-Employee Compensation, then it was rolled into the -Misc, and now it stands separately, again.

W4 and I9 are requested by the potential Employer. A person having only ITIN is not legally able to be hired, though.

It's hard to know what is meant by FIAN. For instance, perhaps they want proof of FEIN. We're stuck trying to be mind-readers.