United States: Five Documents Removed From List Of Acceptable Documents For I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, And New I-9 Form Required

Starting November 7, 2007, employers must use the most recent I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form for new hires and employment reverification. Five previously accepted documents no longer can be used to comply with I-9 requirements, though one other document has been added to the "List of Acceptable Documents."

The five documents removed from List A by the November 7 notice are Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561), Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570), Alien Registration Receipt Card (I- 151), unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327), and unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571). An unexpired Employment Authorization Document (I-766) now can be used.

The current list of acceptable documents includes U.S. passport (unexpired or expired), Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551), unexpired foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp, unexpired Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I- 766, I-688, I-688A, or I-688B), and unexpired foreign passport with unexpired Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) for nonimmigrant aliens authorized to work for a specific employer.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") explains that the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) mandated a reduction in the number of documents that employers may accept from newly hired employees during the employment eligibility verification process. The eliminated documents were determined to lack sufficient features that deter counterfeiting, tampering, and fraud.

Only Form I-9 with a revision date of June 5, 2007, can be used ("Rev. 06/05/07)N" on lower right corner). As of December 26, 2007, employers who fail to use that form will be subject to applicable penalties. The revised forms are available as downloadable PDFs at www.uscis.gov. Employers also can order forms through USCIS’s toll-free number at 1-800-870-3676.

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