December 17, 2008 – The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new rule updating the list of acceptable documents for the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification process, along with changes to Form I-9 itself. This rule will go into effect on February 2, 2009, and the revised Form I-9 will be available on the USCIS website in the near future. An informational copy of the new Form I-9 is included in the Federal Register publication of the rule. To read the new rule, click here.
Under the new rule, expired documents will no longer be acceptable for employment verification. For example, an expired U.S. passport is not acceptable. The new rule also removes several documents that are no longer in circulation and adds new types of acceptable documents.
Employers may continue to use the current version of Form I-9 and the list of acceptable documents until February 1, 2009. Any Forms I-9 completed before February 2, 2009 will not need to be updated. However, if employers must re-verify the employment eligibility for any employee after February 2, 2009, the employer must use the new Form I-9 and the new list of acceptable documents.
USCIS has issued a Press Release and FAQ on the Rule.
Buchalter Nemer is available to assist employers with I-9 compliance and to provide guidance and counseling on implementing an electronic employment verification program.
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