New I-9 Compliance Update – Be Aware, Prevent Penalties!

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently announced that another revised version of the Form I-9 is now available and ready for use. As many of you are aware, employers are required to complete and retain a Form I-9 for every employee hired on or after 1986 who are continuing in their employment and have a reasonable expectation of employment at all times. The Form I-9 is used for employment eligibility verification by confirming the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. Employers must complete and sign Section 2 of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification within 3 business days of the date of hire of their employee (the hire date means the first day of work for pay).

Employers may continue to use the version of the Form I-9 that has a revision date of November 14, 2016 for new hires until September 17, 2017. On September 18, 2017, any and all previous versions of the form will no longer be valid for newly hired employees and employers will be expected to be fully transitioned to the new form, which will not have an expiration date until August 31, 2019. Please note that you are not required to update or redo current employee Form I-9s on file if the information is otherwise accurate. Employers only need to ensure the new Form I-9 is used for all new employees moving forward after September 17, 2017.

Changes with the new Form I-9 are particularly focused on the instructions and revisions related to the List of Acceptable Documents. Key changes to the new form include:

• The name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices has been changed to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
• “The end of” has been removed from the phrase “the first day of employment.”
• The Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) has been added 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 the Form I-9.
• All certifications of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350, and Form FS-240) have been combined into selection C #2 in List C.
• All List C documents have been renumbered 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.

Katrina Dietrich is the HR Consulting Manager at MCM CPAs & Advisors. Prior to joining MCM, Katrina developed a strong general HR background, gaining expertise in employee relations, recruitment, mentoring, training and development, in particular within the manufacturing and healthcare sectors.

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