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Earlier this year, the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) made a change to Form I-9—and things are changing again. Form I-9 serves to prove eligibility to work in the United States. The latest I-9 form contains revisions to the instructions along with updates to the list of accepted documents. Employers may begin using the new forms immediately, but have until September 18, 2017 to switch to the new I-9. They may continue using the previous version (revision dated 11/14/16) until September 17, 2017.
Changes to Form I-9 instructions include:
- Changed the name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
- Removed “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment.”
Changes to the list of acceptable documents for Form I-9 include:
- Added the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) to List C.
- 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.
- Renumbered all List C documents except the Social Security card.
For more information on these changes, see the USCIS Handbook for Employers M-274.
To prove eligibility to work in the U.S., employees must complete an I-9 form and provide their employer with the required identification. Employers must ensure proper completion of the form and verify employees meet the identification requirement. The employer must keep the forms for a specified time and have them available for inspection by an authorized government officer if needed.
