What’s New in the Revised Form I-9?
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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced July 21 a new Form I-9, also known as Employment Eligibility Verification which can be used starting August 1. It is a document used by employers in the United States to verify the identity and employment eligibility of individuals they hire.
Employers may continue to use the current form until October 31, 2023, but failure to comply with the new form beyond this period could be subject to noncompliance penalties.
Among the improvements to the form is a checkbox employers enrolled in E-Verify can use to indicate they remotely examined identity and employment authorization documents under an alternative procedure authorized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
What is a Form I-9?
Form I-9 is a document used by employers in the United States to verify the identity and employment eligibility of individuals they hire. It is a requirement under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which prohibits employers from hiring and employing individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States.
The Form I-9 process involves both the employer and the employee. When a new employee is hired, they are required to fill out Section 1 of Form I-9, providing their personal information, citizenship status, and attesting to their eligibility to work in the U.S. The employer is responsible for completing Section 2 of the form, which includes verifying the employee’s identity and eligibility by examining specific documents that establish both.
What’s New in the Revised Form I-9?
Here are the key changes to Form I-9:
- Reduced Sections 1 and 2 to a single-sided sheet. No previous fields were removed. Rather, multiple fields were merged into fewer fields when possible.
- Moved the Section 1 Preparer/Translator Certification area to a separate, standalone supplement (Supplement A) that employers can provide to employees when necessary. Employers may attach additional supplement sheets as needed.
- Moved the Section 3 Reverification and Rehire area to a separate, standalone supplement (Supplement B) that employers can print if or when rehire occurs or reverification is required. Employers may attach additional supplement sheets as necessary.
- Removed the use of “alien authorized to work” in Section 1 and replaced it with “noncitizen authorized to work” as well as clarified the difference between “noncitizen national” and “noncitizen authorized to work.”
- The form is designed to be a fillable form on tablets and mobile devices
- Removed certain features to ensure the form can be downloaded easily. This also removes the requirement to enter N/A in certain fields.
- Updated the notice at the top of the form that explains how to avoid discrimination in the Form I-9 process.
- Revised the Lists of Acceptable Documents page to include some acceptable receipts as well as guidance and links to information on automatic extensions of employment authorization documentation. Added a box that eligible employers must check if the employee’s Form I-9 documentation was examined under a DHS-authorized alternative procedure rather than via physical examination.
You may download the new Form I-9 in this link: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9