Revised Form I-9 Issued By The USCIS

On July 17, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) released a revised version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.  Instructions for how to download Form I-9 are available on the USCIS Form I-9 page. Employers can use this revised version immediately or continue using Form I-9 with a revision date of 11/14/16 N through September 17^th.  However, beginning September 18, 2017, employers must use the revised form with a revision date of 07/17/17 N.  Also, employers must continue following existing storage and retention rules for any previously completed Form I-9.

The USCIS publication regarding the revised form summarizes the changes to the Form I-9 as follows:

Revisions to the Form I-9 instructions:

• We changed the name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
• We removed “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment.”

Revisions related to the List of Acceptable Documents on Form I-9:

• We added the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) to List C. Employers completing Form I-9 on a computer will be able to select Form FS-240 from the drop-down menus available in List C of Sections 2 and 3. E-Verify users will also be able to select Form FS-240 when creating a case for an employee who has presented this document for Form I-9.
• We combined all the certifications of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350, and Form FS-240) into selection C #2 in List C.
• We renumbered all List C documents except the Social Security card. For example, the employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security on List C changed from List C #8 to List C #7.

The USCIS also revised the Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274), which helps employers navigate the requirements for compliance with Form I-9 obligations.

More information can be obtained at: https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/revised-form-i-9-now-available.