Are your employees trained on the new Form I-9?

U.S. employers have less than a month to ensure their organizations are in compliance with the new changes to the Employment Eligibility Verification process (Form I-9).

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published the new I-9 changes to streamline the work eligibility process on December 17, 2008. The new I-9 form reflects several changes including new employment verification guidelines and a redefined list of acceptable proof of identification documents.

Beginning February 2, 2009, all employers are required to use the revised Form I-9 for verification of new employees and re-verification of existing employees. It is each employer’s responsibility to ensure all employees involved in the hiring process are trained on the latest changes to the new document.

The new Form I-9 includes several modifications that you should cover in your Form I-9 compliance training, including:

• Using expired documents as proof of identification or work authorization is no longer acceptable.
• Three documents were eliminated from List A of the List of Acceptable Documents: Temporary Resident Card, and older versions of the Employment Authorization Card/Document.
• Foreign passports with machine-readable visas for certain citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) were added to List A.
• The new U.S. Passport card was added to the list of acceptable employment eligibility verification documents.
• Revisions to the employee attestation section of the Form I-9.

Employers who fail to use the revised I-9 form by February 2, 2009 may be subject to violation fines. Keep your company in compliance by ordering the updated Form I-9 today.