Employers need to be aware that the current Form I-9 will only be acceptable/valid until Jan. 21, 2017.
On Aug. 25, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. USCIS must publish a revised form by Nov. 22, 2016. Employers may continue using the current version of Form I-9 with a revision date of 03/08/2013N until Jan. 21, 2017. After Jan. 21, 2017, all previous versions of Form I-9 will be invalid.
Key Changes to the Form I-9
The proposed changes specifically aim to help employers reduce technical errors for which they may be fined, which include:
- Separate instructions from the form. Employers are still required to present the instructions to the employee completing the form.
- Drop-down lists and calendars.
- Validations on certain fields to ensure information is entered correctly.
- Embedded instructions for completing each field.
- Additional spaces to enter multiple preparers and translators.
- The requirement that workers provide only other last names used in Section 1, rather than all other names used. This is to avoid possible discrimination issues and to protect the privacy of transgender and other individuals who have changed their first names.
- The removal of the requirement that immigrants authorized to work provide both their Form I-94 number and foreign passport information in Section 1.
- A new "Citizenship/Immigration Status" field at the top of section 2.
- A dedicated area to enter additional information that employers are currently required to notate in the margins of the form (ie., OPT)
- A quick-response matrix barcode, or QR code, that generates once the form is printed that can be used to streamline enforcement audits.