Employers Must Now Use Newly Revised I-9 Forms

The United States Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) recently released a new I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form, which replaces the prior version of the Form I-9. All employers, as well as companies who recruit or refer employees for a fee, must complete a Form I-9 for all employees, pursuant to Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Control Act, and should now be using the new Form for this purpose. The new Form and its Instructions can be accessed at http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf.

Most notably, the new Form I-9 includes changes to the list of documents that an employee can provide to establish authorization to work in the United States. Certain documents that previously had been permitted to establish work authorization, such as a Certificate of Naturalization, an Alien Registration Receipt Card, and a Reentry Permit, can no longer be used to establish either an employee’s identity or her eligibility to work. Other documents, such as a U.S. Passport, a Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card, and a valid Employment Authorization Document, can still be used to establish authorization to work in the United States. A complete list of the documents establishing authorization to work in the United States is contained in the Form I-9 Instructions.

For more specific guidance on completing the new Form I-9, please contact any of our attorneys.