USCIS Releases New Form I-9

On March 8, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. All employers must complete a Form I-9 for each employee hired in the United States.

Employers should immediately begin using the revised Form I-9 for all new hires and reverifications. However, employers may continue to use previously accepted versions, dated 02/02/09 and 08/07/09, until May 7, 2013. After May 7, 2013, employers must only use the just released Form I-9, dated 03/08/13. It is important to note that, after May 7, 2013, employers must use the revised Form I-9 for new hires and to reverify the employment authorization of current employees. If a current employee requires reverification after May 7, 2013, employers must complete Section 3 of the new form and attach it to the employee's existing Form I-9.

The revised Form I-9 includes new fields, formatting, and instructions for both employees and employers. The revised Form I-9 is available here. Seyfarth plans a webinar soon to offer tips and best practices in completing the new I-9 form. Please stay tuned for detail.

The revised forms are also available in Spanish here. Please note, however, that the Spanish language version of the form may only be used in Puerto Rico.

For an analysis of the new I-9, co-authored by Seyfarth partner, Angelo Paparelli, click here.