Revised I-9 Form Released By USCIS

Published November 13, 2007

Last week, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a revised Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) and M-274 (Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I-9). This version of the form — which has a revision date of June 5, 2007 — is the only one that is valid for use. Employers must use this form for any employees hired on or after November 7, 2007, although there is a 30-day transition period in which the government will not seek penalties against an employer that uses an older version of the form. New forms do not have to be completed for existing employees.

The main difference is List A of the Lists Of Acceptable Documents. It now reflects the document-reduction requirements of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. The five documents that were removed from the list are:

• 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 was added to List A: Unexpired Employment Authorization Document (I-766). It was included with all of the other Employment Authorization Documents with photographs that are in circulation (I-688, I-688A, I-688B) as one item on List A.

There is no change in the way you must complete the form. But are you sure your practices and procedures are sound? The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to crack down on employers that knowingly employ illegal aliens. In fiscal year 2007, DHS had 863 criminal cases (up from 716 in fiscal year 2006) and over 4,000 administrative arrests (up from over 3,600 last year).

Last month, the former president of a nationwide cleaning service pled guilty to harboring illegal aliens and conspiring to defraud the United States. He will pay restitution to the United States in an amount expected to exceed $16 million. He will also agree to forfeit bank accounts and currency totaling more than $1.1 million for knowingly hiring illegal aliens. Said DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff: "[T]he days of treating employers who violate these laws by giving them the equivalent of a corporate parking ticket — those days are gone. It's now felonies, jail time, fines, and forfeitures."

Chertoff said he believes that the vast majority of employers "really do want to comply with the law. But we've got to give them the tools to do the job and to make sure that they are in compliance." AHI has a tool to help you ensure your I-9 process is legally sound. Check out the Complete I-9 Compliance Kit today.

Related Topic(s): Hiring/IRCA - Immigration Reform and Control Act