Effective September 18, 2017, all employers are required to use a new I-9 form (July. 2017 revision). Additionally, some changes have been made as to which documents an employer may accept as evidence of the employee’s identity and employment authorization.
What is the I-9 Form?
Form I-9 is used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for each individual (both citizen and non-citizen) they hire for employment in the United States. Both employees and employers (or authorized representatives of the employer) must complete the form. On the form, an employee must attest to his or her employment authorization. The employee must also present his or her employer with acceptable documents evidencing identity and employment authorization. The employer IS RESPONSIBLE to (1) examine the employment eligibility and identity document(s) an employee presents to determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and and related to the employee, and (2) record the document information on the Form I-9. The list of acceptable documents can be found on the last page of the I-9 form and are also listed below. Employers must retain Form I-9 for a designated period (longer of 3 years after start of employment or 1 year after termination of employment) and make it available for inspection by authorized government officers.
What is changing?
Effective September 18, 2017, there is a new version of the I-9 form. The new form can be found here.
In addition, some changes have been made regarding which documents may be accepted as evidence of the employee’s identity and employment authorization. Under the new guidelines, to establish both identity and employment authorization, a person must present to their employer a document or combination of documents from List A, which shows both identity and employment authorization; or one document from List B, which shows identity and one document from List C, which shows employment authorization. If a person is unable to present an acceptable document from the List of Acceptable Documents within three business days of the date work for pay begins. The employee must indicate by checking the appropriate box in Section 1 that they are authorized to be employed in the United States and must also present the actual document when the “receipt validity” or applicable grace period ends.
| LIST A: DOCUMENTS THAT ESTABLISH BOTH IDENTITY AND EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION | LIST B: DOCUMENTS THAT ESTABLISH IDENTITY | LIST C: DOCUMENTS THAT ESTABLISH EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION |
| U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport Card
Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551) Foreign passport that contains a temporary I-551 stamp or temporary I-551 printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa (MRIV) Employment Authorization Document (EAD) that contains a photograph (Form I-766). Form I-766 expired on its face combined with Form I-797 based on an automatic EAD extension in certain circumstances qualifies as unexpired Form I-766 For a nonimmigrant alien authorized to work for a specific employer incident to status, a foreign passport with Form I-94 or Form I-94A bearing the same name as the passport and an endorsement of the alien’s nonimmigrant status, as long as the period of endorsement has not yet expired and the proposed employment is not in conflict with any restrictions or limitations identified on the form Passport from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) or the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) with Form I-94 or Form I-94A indicating nonimmigrant admission under the Compact of Free Association Between the United States and the FSM or RMI All documents must be unexpired |
For individuals 18 years of age or older:
Driver’s license or ID card issued by a state or outlying possession of the United States, provided it contains a photograph or information such as name, date of birth, gender, height, eye color, and address ID card issued by federal, state, or local government agencies or entities, provided it contains a photograph or information such as name, date of birth, gender, height, eye color, and address School ID card with a photograph Voter’s registration card U.S. military card or draft record Military dependent’s ID card U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card Native American tribal document Driver’s license issued by a Canadian government authority For persons under age 18 who are unable to present a document listed above:
All documents must be unexpired
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A Social Security Account Number card unless the card includes one of the following restrictions:
o NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT o VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH INS AUTHORIZATION o VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION Certification of report of birth issued by the U.S. Department of State (Forms DS-1350, FS-545, FS-240) Original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, municipal authority or outlying territory of the United States bearing an official seal Native American tribal document U.S. Citizen Identification Card (Form I-197) Identification Card for Use of Resident Citizen in the United States (Form I-179) Employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security. For examples, please visit uscis.gov/i-9-central All documents must be unexpired |
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