Authors:
On March 8, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued an updated Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9. As you are aware, U.S. law requires that employers verify the identity and employment authorization of all new hires by completing Form I-9 and examining relevant personal documents. The new Form I-9 is only required for individuals hired on or after March 8, 2013. The following is a summary of changes in the new Form I-9.
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Effective Date: The prior version of the I-9 may still be used through May 7, 2013, but we recommend that you immediately begin implementing the new I-9, as possible.
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Blank Spaces: Make sure to enter “N/A” in all blank spaces.
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Two-Sided Printing: Since the new Form I-9 is two-pages long, USCIS recommends that employers utilize two-sided printing to ensure that both pages remain together.
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3D Barcode Boxes: On several parts of the Form I-9 are blank boxes for future versions that will include 3D barcodes. Upcoming versions of the I-9 will include more technology, such as drop down fields and will be automatically processed to create a unique barcode for each applicant. Ignore the boxes in this version and do not write in them.
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Section 1 New Passport Field: A new passport field appears in Section 1 for individuals marking “alien authorized to work.” Any alien who provides a Form I-94 Admission Number under this section should also now include the indicated passport information.
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Section 2 New Name Field: Since the Form I-9 is now two-pages, USCIS has added a field on Page 2 where the employer should enter the employee’s name exactly as it appears in Section 1. This will assist employers in keeping the pages together if they do not use two-sided printing. Always complete this new field, even when using two-sided printing.
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More Spaces in Section 2, List A: Additional fields are for secondary and tertiary documents. The most common use will be employees presenting foreign passports and I-94s where the first area would be for the passport and the second for the I-94.
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Redesigned Certification Area in Section 2: The redesigned Certification section now separates all of the employer’s attestations and removes the date of employment.
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Social Security Card Clarification: Page 9 now clarifies acceptable Social Security Cards.
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Section 3 Reverification: Clarifies the need to only reverify expiring List A and List C documents (Note: Documents of US Citizens or green card holders need not be reverified).
