USCIS Releases New Form I-9 Today

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new Form I-9 today.

The new Form I-9 is notated with the revision date July 17. 2017 in the lower left corner and must be incorporated into employers’ hiring procedures by September 18, 2017. Any other versions of Form I-9 will be considered invalid after September 17, 2017.

The updated Form I-9 includes revisions to the instructions for completion and to the list of acceptable documents for verification purposes.

Revisions to the Form I-9 instructions:

• The name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices was changed to a new name: Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
• Removal of the phrase “the end of” from the “the first day of employment.” The Handbook for Employers M-274, also updated, states that employers should “have the employee complete Section 1 at the time of hire (by the first day of their employment for pay) […]”

Revisions related to the List of Acceptable Documents on Form I-9:

• Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) 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 Sections 2 and 3. 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 Form I-9.
• All the certifications of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350, and Form FS-240) have been combined into number 2 in List C.
• All List C documents have been renumbered, except the Social Security card. For example, the employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security on List C changed from No. 8 to No. 7.

The M-274 Handbook was also revised to reflect these changes. Employers can download the PDF print copy, or can now view its contents in a new online format divided by sections.

Failure to comply with the deadline for the new Form I-9 can result in significant fines. Therefore, employers should immediately download the new Form I-9 and ensure that hiring managers processing in new employees are using the correct revision date prior to September 18, 2017.