New I-9 Form and Handbook for Employers, Guidance for Completing the Form I-9

On Friday, March 8, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The form must be used immediately by employers for new hires, with the exception of employers who need to make necessary updates to their business processes to allow for use of the new Form I-9. Those employers may continue to use other previously accepted revisions (Rev.02/02/09)N and (Rev. 08/07/09)Y until May 7, 2013. After May 7, 2013, all employers must use the revised Form I-9 for each new employee hired in the United States. Employers in Puerto Rico, and ONLY Puerto Rico, may use a Spanish version of Form I-9. Additional information and useful links related to Form I-9 can be accessed at I-9 Central. Employers are reminded that they should not complete the new Form I-9 for any current employee for whom there is already a properly completed Form I-9 on file, unless re-verification applies. Unnecessary verification may violate the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1324b. USCIS has noted that the revised Form I-9-which is now two pages instead of one-has several new features, including new data fields and a new format to reduce errors. The instructions to the form also more clearly describe the information employees and employers must provide in each section. Note that the instructions must be made available to the employee when completing section 1 of Form I-9. In addition, the Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I-9 has been updated to include information about the revised Form I-9 and has been renamed: Handbook for Employers, Guidance for Completing the Form I-9 (M-274). The Handbook contains helpful new images to illustrate how employees and employers can complete Section 1-3 of the new form. To help inform employers of the revisions, USCIS is offering free educational webinars that highlight the new features of the form, including the new fields and format. The webinars also include a detailed overview of how to use Form I-9.  The next webinar is on Wednesday, March 13 at 2 pm. Here is the schedule of webinars.

The material in this blog is not intended, nor should it be construed or relied upon, as legal advice. Please consult with an attorney if specific legal information is needed.