Once again changes have been made to the Form I-9 and employers must comply by September 18, 2017. The Department of Homeland Security and its U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires every employer to complete this form for each new hire to verify identity and authorization to work in the U.S.

You must use the new Form I-9

Even though the current Form I-9 says it expires 08/31/2019, that form will no longer be valid as of September 18th. The new form, which also expires 08/31/2019, has a date of 07/17/17 printed at the bottom of each page. This is the form you must use for all new hires moving forward.

If you complete the Form I-9 via computer, be sure to access the updated form. If you use E-Verify, these changes will be reflected in the process.

You do not need to change existing employee forms

A new Form I-9 does not mean you have to go back and change the forms of all existing employees. If you need to correct or update an employee's Form I-9 per USCIS guidelines and cannot make those corrections on the existing form, the newest Form I-9 may be used and kept with the older form.

Know what has changed

The most important changes have been made to the “List of Acceptable Documents” — the documents an employee must bring for review and recording in Section 2. The good news is List A and List B have remained the same.

List C changes

  • The Consular Report of Birth Abroad FS-240 was added to #2 as an acceptable document.

  • Previous #2 and #3 have been combined to read “Certification of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Forms DS-1350, FS-545, FS-240)”.

  • Due to that combination, the list changed from 8 items to 7.

Penalties

Non-compliance can lead to civil fines, criminal penalties, debarment from government contracts, and court orders to hire discriminated individuals and provide back pay.

Summary

Although these changes seem minor, it is extremely important for all employers to use the newest version of the Form I-9 and accept the specified documentation — including the rules on storage and retention. When in doubt, contact an HR professional who can walk you through the process and even conduct an I-9 audit.