Revised Form I-9 Now Available

On July 17, 2017 the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a revised version of the Form I-9. Form I-9 is used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. Employers can use this revised version or continue using Form I-9 with a revision date of 11/14/16 N through September 17, 2017. On September 18, 2017 employers must use the revised form with a revision date of 7/17/17 N.

What’s Changed

For the most part, the Form I-9 is similar to the previous forms. Employers must continue following existing storage and retention rules for any previously completed Form I-9.

Employers are only required to use the new I-9 form on new employees, so you won’t have to fill these forms out for any existing employees.

Below are the revisions to the form:

• The name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices was changed to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
• “The end of” was removed from the phrase “the first day of employment.”
• They 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.
• They 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.
• They 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.

What Happens if I Don’t Use the New Form?

Failure to use the new form may result in penalties for your organization. It is important for your organization to make sure you have the proper procedures for completing I-9 forms for new employees.

Next Steps

Employers should use the new I-9 form for new hires effective  September 18, 2017 to avoid penalties. The new form can be accessed on the USCIS Form I-9 page. Be sure that you and your HR team reads and understands the instructions carefully. Best practices suggest you conduct an internal audit of I-9 form compliance at least annually.  

If you have any questions regarding the new changes, please contact us.