New I-9 Form Must Now Be Used By All Employers.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office (CIS) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced revisions to the I-9 form which all employers must complete within three days after hiring any new employee. The new form removes certain forms of acceptable identification and adds others in compliance with the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. The CIS instructs that all employers begin using the new form for all new employees hired after November 7, 2007, but will not penalize non-conforming employers (who continue to use the old I-9 form) until 30 days after a notice has been published in the Federal Registrar.

According the CIS, “five documents have been removed from List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:
o Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561)
o Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)
o Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151)
o Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327)
o Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571).”

The CIS also reports that an additional “document was added to List A of the List of Acceptable Documents: Unexpired Employment Authorization Document (I-766)” According to the CIS, “[t]he revised list now includes: a U.S. passport (unexpired or expired); a Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551); an unexpired foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp; an unexpired Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I-766, I-688, I-688A, or I-688B); and an unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) for nonimmigrant aliens authorized to work for a specific employer.”

In addition, the CIS reports that “[a]ll the Employment Authorization Documents with photographs that are in circulation are now included as one item on List A: I-688, I-688A, I-688B, I-766.”

Finally, the CIS explains that “[i]nstructions regarding Section 1 of Form I-9 now indicate that the employee is not obliged to provide the Social Security Number in Section 1 of Form I-9, unless he or she is employed by an employer who participates in E-Verify. The section on Photocopying and Retaining Form I-9 now includes information about electronically signing and retaining I-9 forms.”

A copy of the new I-9 form is available to be printed and copied from the CIS website at http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-9.pdf. The full CIS press release can be accessed at http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/FormI9FS110707.pdf.

NOTICE: This summary is designed merely to inform and alert you of recent legal developments. It does not constitute legal advice and does not apply to any particular situation because different facts could lead to different results. Readers should not act upon this information without legal advice. If you have any questions about anything you have read, you should consult with an attorney.