New Regulations for Employers

March 13, 2013 - On March 8, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new Form I‐9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Employers are required to use the new form to verify the identity and employment authorization of newly hired employees. Employers should start to use the new Form I‐9 immediately. Use of prior versions of the Form I‐9 will no longer be permitted beginning May 7, 2013, which is 60 days from the announcement publication in the Federal Register. Employers are reminded that they should not complete the new Form I‐9 for any current employee for whom there is already a properly completed Form I‐9 on file, unless re‐verification applies. The key revisions on the Form I‐9 include:

• Adding data fields, including fields for an employee’s foreign passport information, telephone number, and email address
• Improving the form’s instructions
• Revising the layout of the form and expanding the form from one page to two pages

In addition, the Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I‐9 has been updated to include information about the revised Form I‐9 and has been renamed: Handbook for Employers, Guidance for Completing the Form I‐9 (M‐274). The Handbook contains helpful new images to illustrate how employees and employers can complete Section 1‐3 of the new form.