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Print articleThe New I-9 Form
November, 2007 - Leigh Ganchan
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) requires employers to verify the identity and eligibility for employment of all employees by completing the I-9 form within 3 days of their employment in the United States.
After a ten year delay, on November 7, 2007, the USCIS announced that the long awaited revised Form I-9 is now available to the public for use in verifying employment authorization. The previous edition of this form, dated 05/31/05, should not be used any longer. Employers can incur fines and penalties for failure to use the 06/05/07 edition of the form.
Key changes to the form and its use in the verification process include:
• Five documents have been removed from List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:
Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561)
Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)
Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151)
Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327)
Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)
• One document was added to List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:
Unexpired Employment Authorization Document (I-766)
• All Employment Authorization Documents with photographs have been consolidated as one item on List A:
I-688, I-688A, I-688B, I-766
• Instructions regarding Section 1 of the Form I-9 now indicate that the employee is not obliged to provide his or her Social Security number in Section 1 of the Form I-9, unless he or she is employed by an employer who participates in E-Verify.
• Employers may now sign and retain Forms I-9 electronically.
The government has also distributed a new edition of Form M-274, the Handbook for Employers (Instructions for Completing Form I-9 Employment Verification). Employers can download the new I-9 form from the government website: www.uscis.gov.
For assistance with revisions to your employment eligibility verification policies and procedures, or training on the I-9 process please contact our Immigration Law Practice Group.
After a ten year delay, on November 7, 2007, the USCIS announced that the long awaited revised Form I-9 is now available to the public for use in verifying employment authorization. The previous edition of this form, dated 05/31/05, should not be used any longer. Employers can incur fines and penalties for failure to use the 06/05/07 edition of the form.
Key changes to the form and its use in the verification process include:
• Five documents have been removed from List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:
Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561)
Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)
Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151)
Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327)
Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)
• One document was added to List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:
Unexpired Employment Authorization Document (I-766)
• All Employment Authorization Documents with photographs have been consolidated as one item on List A:
I-688, I-688A, I-688B, I-766
• Instructions regarding Section 1 of the Form I-9 now indicate that the employee is not obliged to provide his or her Social Security number in Section 1 of the Form I-9, unless he or she is employed by an employer who participates in E-Verify.
• Employers may now sign and retain Forms I-9 electronically.
The government has also distributed a new edition of Form M-274, the Handbook for Employers (Instructions for Completing Form I-9 Employment Verification). Employers can download the new I-9 form from the government website: www.uscis.gov.
For assistance with revisions to your employment eligibility verification policies and procedures, or training on the I-9 process please contact our Immigration Law Practice Group.
