Sep 13, 2017 Immigration Law

Employers Must Use the Revised Form I-9 as of September 18, 2017

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) recently released a revised Form I-9, which employers must begin using by September 18, 2017. This form is available on USCIS’s website, at: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9.

Background Regarding the Form I-9:

Employers must complete a Form I-9 for each employee, to verify the employee’s identity and authorization to work in the United States. The employee: (a) completes the first portion of the form, where he or she attests to his or her employment authorization; and (b) presents his or her employer with acceptable documents evidencing his or her identity and authorization to work in the United States. The employer must then examine the employment eligibility and identity document(s) the employee presents, to determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and to relate to the employee, and complete the remainder of the Form I-9. A List of Acceptable Documents that employers may consider is set forth on the last page of the Form I-9. Employers must retain the completed Form I-9s for a designated period and make them available for inspection by authorized government officers.

Revised Form I-9:

The changes to this form are minimal, and include the following:

  • Updating the List of Acceptable Documents (that an employee must present to verify his or her identity and employment authorization) to include, under List C, the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (FS-240) as an acceptable document. FS-240 is issued by the Department of State to individuals born overseas to a parent with U.S. citizenship. (Several items on List C were also renumbered).
  • Amending the form’s instructions to clarify that certain parts of the form must be completed “no later than the first day of employment” (as opposed to the instructions in the current version, which provide for completion “no later than the end of the first day of employment”).
  •  Updating the instructions to reflect the renaming of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices as the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.

Next Steps:

Employers should download the revised Form I-9 from USCIS’s website and ensure that procedures are in place to begin using it by September 18, 2017. Please note that employers are only required to use this form prospectively (i.e., they do not need to have employees who completed a prior version of the form complete this revised version). Employers should also ensure that their Human Resources professionals, and other employees responsible for completing Form I-9s, are advised of the changes to the form.

Please do not hesitate to contact any of our attorneys if you have any questions regarding this revised Form I-9.