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On March 27, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) published a notice in the Federal Register
inviting the public to comment on proposed revisions to Form I-9.
As you may know, employers are required under the Immigration
Reform and Control Act of 1986 to complete a Form I-9 during the
hiring process to verify an individual's identity and
employment eligibility. Historically, employers have found
completing Form I-9 confusing and burdensome. The instructions have
not always been clear to employers about the types of documents
that an individual may offer to prove employment eligibility. On
this front, the proposed changes are an overall positive
development for employers.
How is Form I-9 changing?
The proposed revisions to Form I-9 include a more user-friendly
two-page layout, with more detailed instructions to a new hire and
an employer on properly completing the form. We think that
employers will find the expanded I-9 instructions useful. The
currently proposed Form I-9 may be found online at: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=USCIS-2006-0068-0013.
The key revisions under proposal are:
Adding data fields for a foreign passport number and country of
issuance where a passport and Form I-9 are evidence of an
individual's identity and work authorization;
Providing detailed guidance to employers with respect to
accepting receipts as evidence of employment eligibility; and
Creating fields for document numbers and expiration dates for
"List A" documents.
One of the most helpful changes to the instructions is
clarification regarding acceptable versions of social security
cards for the I-9 process. The Social Security Administration
issues several versions of social security cards. The proposed
instructions would provide specific examples of restricted social
security cards that, when presented alone, are insufficient
evidence of employment authorization. Additionally, the proposed
instructions regarding the I-9 reverification are clear and more
explicit than the instructions in the current form. These revisions
should prove useful for employers.
Comments due by May 29, 2012
Please contact your immigration attorney at Mintz Levin if you
are interested in submitting a comment to USCIS regarding the
proposed revisions to Form I-9. Comments would need to be focused
on the proposed content of the form or revisions to the
instructions. This comment process is not for general changes to
the I-9 process, legal requirements, or regulations. USCIS also did
not include any revisions to E-Verify in their notice. The public
comment period ends May 29, 2012.
Mintz Levin will continue to monitor all developments with the
new version of Form I-9. Until a new version of Form I-9 is
approved, employers must continue to use the current version of the
I-9 form which was revised on 8/7/2009 and expires on
8/31/2012.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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On March 8, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, bearing an edition date of March 8, 2013, for immediate use by employers.
EB-2 category for all chargeable areas other than China and India remains current, with some considerable forward movement but continued backlog in the EB-3 category.
A bipartisan group of eight U.S. senators has introduced the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, an 844-page bill that aims to bolster border security and seeks to provide some of the nation's 11 million undocumented people with a path to citizenship.
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