Employers will be required to use a REVISED I-9 FORM, Employment Eligibility Verification, as of September 18, 2017. Until then, employers can use either the old form (which has a revision date of 11/14/16) or the new form that was released July 17 by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”).
The updated Form I-9 includes minor revisions to the Instructions and several changes to the List of Acceptable Documents on Form I-9. (See below for a list of these revisions.)
Background on Form I-9
Form I-9 is used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the U.S. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the U.S. This includes citizens and noncitizens. The form must be completed by both the employer and employee.
- The employee must attest to his or her employment authorization and also present his or her employer with acceptable (listed) documents evidencing identity and employment authorization. The list of acceptable documents is on the last page of the form.
- The employer must examine the documents presented to determine if they reasonably appear to be genuine and to relate to that employee. The employer also must record the document information on the Form I-9 and must retain Form I-9 for a designated period and make it available for inspection by authorized government officers.
Revisions to the Form I-9 Instructions
- Changed the name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section
- Removed “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment.”
Revisions related to the List of Acceptable Documents on Form I-9
- Added the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) to List C. Employers completing Form I-9 on a computer will be able to select Form FS-240 from the drop-down menus available in List C of Sections 2 and 3. E-Verify users will also be able to select Form FS-240 when creating a case for an employee who has presented this document for Form I-9.
- Combined all the certifications of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350, and Form FS-240) into selection C #2 in List C.
- Renumbered all List C documents except the Social Security card. For example, the employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security on List C changed from List C #8 to List C #7.
USCIS also published a revised Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274), which includes these changes.