New I-9 Form Released July 17

Posted on July 19, 2017

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a revised version of the Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification). Employers must begin using the new version by September 18, 2017.

Background:

The Form I-9 is used to verify a new hire's identity and work authorization. All employers must ensure that each employee properly completes the I-9 at the time of hire. The form is broken out into multiple sections:

Section Name

Section Overview

Completion Deadline

Section 1

Employee must attest that he or she is authorized to work in the U.S.

The employee's first day of work for pay

Section 2

Employee must present certain identity and work authorization documents. The employer must examine the document(s) to determine whether they reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the employee. Employers must record the document number(s) here.

Within 3 business days

Section 3

If an employee's employment authorization expires, he/she must present new or updated document(s) and the employer must examine and record the document number(s) here. Employers may also be required to complete this section when rehiring a former employee, depending on how much time has passed.

Reverification must be completed no later than the date employment authorization expires

List of Acceptable Documents

To complete Section 2, the employee must either present one document from List A; or one document from List B and one document from List C. Employers cannot ask for specific documents.

This section does not need to be completed. It's for informational purposes only.

What is different in the new version of the form?

Revisions to the instructions:

  • Relatively minor revisions, such as changing the name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.

Revisions to the list of acceptable documents:

  • Adding the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) to List C.
  • Combining 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.
  • Renumbering all List C documents except the Social Security card.

Compliance Recommendations:

By September 18, 2017, all employers must begin using the new version of the I-9, which is dated 07/17/17. In the meantime, employers have the option of using the outgoing version, which is dated 11/14/16. You can find the new version in the New Hire Paperwork section of HR411®.