The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) published a revised I-9 form in July 2017. On September 18, 2017 employers must use the revised form with a revision date of 07/17/17 N.
The new form was modified with the intention to make it easier to navigate and includes slight changes to wording. The changes are relatively minimal, however failure to comply with the requirement to use the new form could result in significant fines.
The revisions to the form mainly relate to the List of Acceptable Documents. List C has been updated to reflect the most current version of the certification or report of birth issued by the U.S. State Department. Employers completing the Form I-9 on a computer will be able to select the newly added Consular Report of Birth Abroad Form FS-240, which is issued to certain employees born overseas to a U.S. citizen parent. 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 employment eligibility verification.
The new form changes the instructions for section 1 by removing “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment” in reference to completing Section 1. Employers should revise their policies and procedures if necessary to make sure that Section 1 is completed no later than when the employee starts work.
The updated form also reflects the new name of the former Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices. The new name is The Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
Although the new form is not required until September 18, we recommend that clients start using the updated form immediately for all new hires. The form can be downloaded at http://www.uscis.gov. You can also stop by our office to pick up the revised form. If you have any questions on the new form, Contact Us.