New Form I-9 Required Starting September 18, 2017

/ Scott

For a PDF version of this article, click here.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a revised version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Employers will be required to use the new version of the form (dated 07/17/17) starting September 18, 2017. The new form applies to new hires only. Employers should not complete new Forms I-9 for current employees. Employers must continue following existing storage and retention rules for any previously completed Form I-9.

The fillable PDF version of the new Form I-9 can be found here.

The paper version of the new Form I-9 can be found here.

Supplemental I-9 materials from USCIS are available here.

The new form contains the following revisions:

  • The name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices was changed to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
  • USCIS removed “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment.”
  • USCIS added the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) 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 selection C #2 in List C.
  • All List C documents except the Social Security card have been renumbered.

These changes are included in a newly revised Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274). The new version of the M-274 can be found here.

Given the increased attention on I-9s and enforcement of immigration-related laws in recent years, employers should be particularly careful when filling out, handling, and storing I-9s. Annual internal Form I-9 audits and periodic third party I-9 audits by qualified professionals are recommended. Mistakes discovered during an audit can and should be corrected.