Immigration Law Advisory Bulletin
USCIS Releases New Form I-9
By Minh
Phung Ngo, Richard
M. Rawson, Christopher
R. Helm and James
M. Mei
[November 2007]
On Nov. 7, 2007, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
released a revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9).
The revised Form I-9 will become effective once the notice is published
in the Federal Register. USCIS, however, encourages employers to
start using the revised Form I-9 immediately. The new form removes
five documents from List A of Acceptable Documents. These documents
are:
- Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561)
- Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)
- Alien Registration Receipt (I-151)
- Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327)
- Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form-571)
The revision brings Form I-9 into compliance with the 1997 rule
that had eliminated the above documents as acceptable documents
for proof of both identity and employment eligibility. In addition,
instructions for Section 1 of the revised Form I-9 now expressly
state that providing an employee's social security number in Section
1 is voluntary, unless the employer participates in E-Verify.
Employers do not need to complete the revised Form I-9 for existing
employees. Employers only need use the new form when verifying the
employment eligibility of new employees and when re-verifying existing
employees. After the effective date, all previous versions of Form
I-9, in English and Spanish, will no longer be valid. Employers
who continue to use the outdated editions of Form I-9 after the
effective date may be subject to fines and penalties.
The revised Form I-9, as well the "Handbook for Employers,
Instructions for Completing the Form I-9,” are available online
at www.uscis.gov.
To order the new forms, you may call USCIS at 1-800-870-3676.
If you have questions
or would like more information, please contact any member of DWT's
immigration practice team, including:
This
advisory
is a publication of the Employer Services Department of Davis Wright
Tremaine LLP. Our purpose in publishing this advisory
is to inform our clients and friends of recent developments in employment
law. It is not intended, nor should it be used, as a substitute
for specific legal advice as legal counsel may be given only in
response to inquiries regarding particular situations. Attorney
advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Copyright © 2007, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.
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