Employers Take Note: New Form I-9 Now in Effect

As of September 18, 2017, all employers must now use the revised Form I-9 released by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to verify the identity and employment authorization of all new hires, whether citizens or noncitizens. USCIS initially published the new version of the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form on July 17, 2017, but had permitted a transition period during which employers could continue to use the previous edition of the Form I-9 through September 17, 2017.

The new form has a revision date of “07/17/17 N” and an expiration date of “08/31/2019.” Employers should look for these dates to help ensure they are using the proper version of the Form I-9. Given the strong focus on worksite enforcement by the new administration with increased scrutiny of I-9 compliance, employers would be well served by ensuring that their related Form I-9 policies and practices are up-to-date and consistently applied.

The relatively modest changes reflected in the new Form I-9, including to the Instructions and Lists of Acceptable Documents, are intended to help employers reduce completion errors. USCIS has included these changes in the Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274). Each of these changes is also tracked in Ogletree Deakins’ automated Form I-9 and E-Verify web-based compliance solution, I-9 Secure^®.