The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be releasing a new version of the I-9 form in November. All employers are required to have employees complete I-9 forms to verify employment eligibility. The new form incorporates smart features and is designed to reduce errors and address areas that have been problematic to employers and employees.
New Features and Changes to the I-9 Form Include:
- Drop down lists and calendars
- Embedded instructions
- Validations to ensure information is entered correctly
- Buttons to access instructions, print, and clear the form
- A new Citizenship/Immigration Status field at the top of Section 2
- An area for employers to enter additional information where required
- A quick-response barcode (QR) code that is generated once the form is printed, which can be used to streamline enforcement audits
- Instructions which are separate from the I-9 form.
While this form will be designed with smart features, employers are still required to print the form, obtain handwritten signatures, monitor reverifications and updates, retain the form, and retype information into E-Verify if using that system.
While the new version of the I-9 form is expected to be released in November, employers may continue using the current version until January 21, 2017.
Tips for Employers
To stay in compliance now and after the new I-9 form is released, here some completion requirements and tips:
- Provide the complete form and instructions to employees and consider sending it along with offer letters so candidates know what is needed in advance of their first day of work.
- Ensure employees complete Section 1 no later than the first day of employment. Employers cannot ask individuals to complete Section 1 until acceptance of a job offer.
- Ensure an employer representative completes Section 2 after the employee presents acceptable documents, within 3 business days of the first day of employment. For employees hired for less than 3 business days, Section 2 must be completed on the first day of employment.
- Do not ask for or record more documents than required, which includes: one acceptable document which meets the List A requirements OR one document from List B and one document from List C.
- If you see past forms in your files that were not properly completed, follow the link below for how you can properly correct them and stay in compliance.
https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/complete-and-correct-form-i-9
More Guidance and Support
If you have questions or need more assistance with I-9 forms or other HR needs, contact KMA today.