On July 17, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a revised version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, which is required of all U.S. employers for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. While employers can use the previous version of the Form I-9 (with a revision date of 11/14/16) up until September 17, 2017, employers MUST start using the new version by September 18, 2017. Employers must follow the existing retention and storage rules for previously completed Form I-9s.

 

Employers can download and begin using the revised Form I-9 immediately: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9

 

The revisions to the Form I-9 are as follows:

  • The name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) has been changed to the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER).
  • The instructions in Section 2 have been changed to read: “Employers or their authorized representative must complete and sign Section 2 within 3 business days of the employee’s first day of employment.”
  • The Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) was added as a List C document, and all the certifications of report of birth by the Department of State (Forms DS-1350, FS-545, and FS-240) have been combined in List C.
  • List C documents have been renumbered, except for the Social Security card which remains number 1 on the list.