Just a gentle reminder that employers must start using the new I-9 form starting on February 2.

Click here to read the mind-numbing regulations and to see the beautiful new form.  The official form will be posted on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) web site on or before February 2.

According to USCIS, “[t]he biggest difference in the revised Form I-9 is that all documents presented during the verification process must be unexpired.”  The new I-9 also reduces the number of acceptable documents.  “An expansive document list makes it more difficult for employers to verify valid and acceptable forms and single out false documents compromising the effectiveness and security of the Form I-9 process,” said a USCIS representative.

The new form eliminates three documents from List A (the temporary resident card and older versions of the employment authorization card).  It adds to List A the new U.S. Passport Card, certain foreign passports containing “machine-readable immigrant visas” and passports for certain citizens of the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.  It also includes changes to the employee attestation section.

The USCIS’ I-9 handbook will be update to reflect the new form and will be available on the USCIS web site soon.

Employers who fail to use the new form could be subject to monetary penalties.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 5th, 2009 at 10:57 am and is filed under Employment Law News, I-9, Immigration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.