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Revised I-9
U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
revises Employment Eligibility
Verification Form I-9
Background:
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA)
mandated a reduction in the number of documents that employers may accept from
newly hired employees during the employment eligibility verification process. In
1997, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) published an
interim final rule in the Federal Register eliminating some of the documents
IIRIRA slated for removal. However, Form I-9 was not updated to reflect the
revised List of Acceptable Documents at that time. USCIS has revised Form I-9 to
bring it into compliance with the 1997 regulation as a first step toward
achieving the document reduction goals set out in IIRIRA and as a further step
in its ongoing work toward reducing the number of documents used to confirm
identity and work eligibility. The most significant change to the revised Form
I-9 is the elimination of five documents from List A of the List of Acceptable
Documents.
Questions and Answers:
Q: Where can I get the new Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N?
A:
http://www.buffalostate.edu/offices/hr/forms.asp
Q: What is the difference between the revised Form I-9 and the old one?
A: Five documents have been removed from List A of the List of Acceptable
Documents:
Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561)
Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)
Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151)
Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327)
Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)
One document was added to List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:
Unexpired Employment Authorization Document (I-766)
All the Employment Authorization Documents with photographs that are in
circulation are now included as one item on List A: I-688, I-688A, I-688B,
I-766
Q: Can I accept documents that used to be on the Form I-9 but aren’t now?
A: No. Employers may only accept documents listed on the List of Acceptable
Documents on Form I-9. When re-verifying employees, employers should ensure that
they use the new Form I-9 with its updated list of acceptable documents.
Q: Are there any changes in the way the new Form I-9 is completed?
A: No. The updated form should be completed exactly the same way as the old one
was. The only difference is the types of documents that employers may accept in
Section 2.
Q: What versions of Form I-9 are valid for use?
A: As of November 7, 2007, the Form I-9 with a revision date of June 5, 2007 is
the only version of the form that is valid for use. The revision date is printed
on the lower right corner of the form and states “(Rev. 06/05/07)N”. All
previous versions of Form I-9, in English or Spanish, are no longer valid.
Q: When should employers begin using the version of Form I-9 marked with a
revision date of “(Rev. 06/05/07)N”?
A: Employers must use the amended Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N
for all individuals hired on or after November 7, 2007. However, DHS recognizes
that employers should be afforded a period of time to transition to the amended
Form I-9. DHS will publish a Notice in the Federal Register announcing that it
will not seek penalties against an employer for using a previous version of the
Form I-9 during a 30 day transition period that begins on date of publication of
the Notice. After the transition period, employers who fail to use
Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N may be subject to all applicable
penalties under section 274A of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324a, as enforced by U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Q: Do I need to complete the new version of Form I-9 for all my employees or
just the new ones?
A: Employers only need to complete the new version of Form I-9
(Rev. 06/05/07)N for new employees. Employers do not need to complete new
forms for existing employees. However, employers must use the
Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N when their employees require re-verification.
For more information from USCIS, visit their
Press Room.
If you have any questions, please contact the Payroll Office at ext. 4124.
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