New I-9 Employment Verification Form Released

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finally revised the I-9 employment verification form and the Handbook for Employers.

It is required that all employers complete an I-9 form for all employees within the first three days of employment. The new I-9 reduces the number of documents an employee may present to prove employment eligibility in the United States.

Five List A documents, which prove both identity and employment eligibility, were eliminated and can no longer be accepted by employers:

• Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-570);
• Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570);
• Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-151);
• Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327); and
• Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571).

Form I-766, the Employment Authorization Document, was added to List A.

A major change is in the instructions for Section 1 that the employee is required to fill out. The worker is no longer required to provide their Social Security number unless the employer participates in the USCIS Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify).

All previous versions of the I-9 form and Handbook for Employers are no longer valid and should not be used.

Employers must use the amended Form I-9, dated June 5, 2007, for all individuals hired on or after November 7, 2007. However, USCIS recognizes that employers should be afforded a period of time to transition to the amended Form I-9. The Department of Homeland Security will publish a Notice in the Federal Register announcing that it will not seek penalties against an employer for using a previous version of the Form I-9 during a 30-day transition period that begins on date of publication of the Notice.

After the transition period, employers who fail to use Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N may be subject to all applicable penalties. Employers do not need to complete new forms for existing employees, but must use the new forms for new hires or if an employee is required to re-verify employment eligibility.

The new I-9 form and the revised Handbook for Employers are available online at www.uscis.gov. Purchasers of Your Employee Handbook have already been sent the updated form and manual; future purchasers will receive it in their download package.

Filed under: Federal News

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