Revised I-9 Form Will Go Into Effect on September 18

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification this week. The new version bears a revision date of 07/17/17 N. The Form I-9 has been revised twice in less than one year.

By September 18, 2017, employers must use only this new version (rev. 0/7/17/17 N). Until then, employers can continue using Form I-9 with a revision date of 11/14/16 N or use this new version.

The Instructions for Form I-9 and the Form I-9 Supplement have also been updated.

One change relates to the timing of when the Form I-9 must be completed. Previously, the form and instructions stated that the employee must complete Section 1 “by the end of the first day of employment (emphasis added).” Now, the USCIS has removed “the end” from the phrase, and the employee must complete Section 1 “by the first day of employment.”

According to the revised Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9, the employee must complete Section 1 “at the time of hire (by the first day of their employment for pay).” Remember, employers cannot ask an individual to complete Section 1 before he/she has accepted a job offer.

According to the USCIS, revisions also include:

• A change to the name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
• Revisions related to the list of acceptable documents on Form I-9:
  • 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 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 included these changes in the revised Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274), which was also improved for ease of navigation.

Employers must continue following existing storage and retention rules for any previously completed Form I-9.

CalChamber added the new Form I-9 English and Spanish versions to the HRCalifornia website, along with the Instructions for Form I-9 (and Spanish) and the Form I-9 Supplement. All these forms are available for free.