ESR News Blog
Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn
On January 31, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that oversees lawful immigration to the United States – published the Form I-9 Federal Register notice that announced a new version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
Employers may continue using the prior version of the form (Rev. 07/17/2017 N) until April 30, 2020. After that date, they can only use the new form with the 10/21/2019 version date. The version date is located in the lower left corner of the form. The USCIS made the following changes to the form and its instructions:
Form:
Revised the Country of Issuance field in Section 1 and the Issuing Authority field (when selecting a foreign passport) in Section 2 to add Eswatini and Macedonia, North per those countries’ recent name changes. (Note: This change is only visible when completing the fillable Form I-9 on a computer.)
Instructions:
- Clarified who can act as an authorized representative on behalf of an employer.
- Updated USCIS website addresses.
- Provided clarifications on acceptable documents for Form I-9.
- Updated the process for requesting paper Forms I-9.
- Updated the DHS Privacy Notice.
Employers should begin using the updated form as of January 31, 2020, and must use it after April 30, 2020. The USCIS is providing employers additional time to make necessary updates and adjust business processes. A revised Spanish language Form I-9 with a version date of 10/21/2019 is available for use in Puerto Rico only.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) requires employers to complete the Form I-9 for all newly-hired employees to verify their identity and their employment authorization to work in the United States. Both employees and employers must complete the form. For more information, visit I-9 Central or join a free webinar.
Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) is a leading global provider of background checks that offers a robust Form I-9 solution that simplifies the process used for verifying employment eligibility to help employers maintain a legal workforce. For more information, visit www.esrcheck.com/Background-Checks/Form-I-9-E-Verify/.
NOTE: Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.
© 2020 Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – Making copies or using of any part of the ESR News Blog or ESR website for any purpose other than your own personal use is prohibited unless written authorization is first obtained from ESR.
The post USCIS Releases New Version of Form I-9 for Employment Eligibility Verification appeared first on Employment Screening Resources.