QuickBooks Payroll Bulletin

USCIS Updates Form I-9 and Employer Handbook

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released an updated version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, as well as a revised M-274, Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I-9.

The form and handbook are available on the USCIS Web site. See the Related Links section on the USCIS Web site for the handbook.

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 rule 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 now revised Form I-9 to bring it into compliance with the 1997 interim rule. The handbook has also been updated as a companion to the new version of the form.

Updates to List A

Five documents have been removed from List A (proving both an employee's identity and work authorization) 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 has been added to List A:

Unexpired Employment Authorization Document (I-766)

All Employment Authorization Documents with photographs in circulation are now included as one item on List A: I-688, I-688A, I-688B, I-766.

Other Updates

The instructions regarding Section 1 of the form now indicate that an employee is not required to provide a Social Security number in that section unless he or she is employed by an employer that participates in E-Verify, a USCIS program used by employers to verify a newly hired employee's identity and work authorization (formerly the Basic Pilot Program and Electronic Employee Verification System).

I-9 Procedures

There are no changes in the way employers should complete the new Form I-9. The only difference is the type of documents employers may accept in Section 2. Employers may not accept certain documents that used to be on the I-9 form.

Employers need to complete the new version of Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N for new employees only. They do not need to complete new forms for current employees. However, employers must use the Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N when employees require re-verification.

Effective Date

Employers may no longer use prior versions of Form I-9. All such versions are no longer valid. Employers must use the new Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N for all individuals hired on or after Nov. 7, 2007.

For more information:

QuickBooks Payroll Bulletin | March 2008