The United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) Agency has released a revised I-9 form and instruction booklet for employers to use in verifying a new hire’s identification and employment eligibility. The form has not changed, but the documents used for verifying work eligibility and identification have changed. Certain documents no longer acceptable have been eliminated from the document list and others added. Remember that I-9 forms must be filled out for each employee within three days of employment and must be retained for three years or one year after termination of employment, whichever time period is longer.
Use of the form is not required until it is formally published in the Federal Register, USCIS recommends employers start using it immediately. After publication, employers will be subject to fines and penalties for not using the form.