On July 17, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will release a new revision of Form I-9—Revision 07/17/17 N—to be used for employment eligibility verification. The new form is available on the USCIS’s website.
Employers will need to use the new version of the form beginning September 18.
Most of the changes will be minor, technical issues. For example, in the form’s instructions, the name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices will be changed to its new name—Immigrant and Employee Rights Section. The instructions will also be updated to remove “the end of” from instructions regarding required actions to be taken no later than “the first day of employment.”
In addition, revisions will be made to the list of acceptable documents for employment verification.
Specifically, per a USCIS press release:
- The Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) will be added 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 Section 2 and Section 3. E-Verify users will be able to select Form FS-240 when creating a case for an employee who has presented the document for Form I-9.
- All certifications of report of birth issued by the U.S. Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350, and Form FS-240) will be combined into selection C#2 in List C.
- All List C documents (except for the Social Security card) will be renumbered. For example, the employment authorization document issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on List C will change from List C #8 to List C #7.
USCIS will also release a revised Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274), which is intended to be easier for users to navigate.
The key takeaway is that there is another new I-9. Employers need to transition new hire verification to the form as soon as practical, but no later than September 18.