Employer alert: New Form I-9 issued

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a newly revised Employment Eligibility Verification form, Form I-9.

The revisions to Form I-9 contain formatting changes and the inclusion of additional data fields.
The key revisions to Form I-9, outlined in the Federal Register, include:

• Adding data fields, including the employee’s foreign passport information (if applicable) and telephone and email addresses.
• Improving the form’s instructions.
• Revising the layout of the form, expanding the form from one to two pages (not including the form instructions and the List of Acceptable Documents).

The form has a revision date of “(Rev. 03/08/13) N” and is available for use beginning March 8, 2013. Prior versions of Form I-9 (Rev. 08/07/09) Y and (Rev. 02/02/09) N can no longer be used by the public effective May 7, 2013.

However, to help take the burden off employers who need to modify electronic systems, the USCIS is providing organizations 60 days to make necessary changes: “[The] USCIS recognizes that some employers may need additional time in order to make necessary updates to their business processes to allow for use of the new Form I–9. USCIS recognizes that modifications to electronic systems may be particularly necessary for employers utilizing electronic Forms I–9. For these reasons, USCIS is providing employers 60 days to make necessary changes. USCIS believes that the 60-day period will help alleviate the burden that immediate implementation of the newly revised Form I–9 would have imposed on employers.”

The department notes that employers do not need to complete the new Form I–9 for current employees who already have a correct Form I-9 on file, unless re-verification applies.