U. S. Gov't Now Requires New I-9 Form
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, began requiring the use of the New I-9 Form on April 3, 2009. Employers use the I-9 to document that employees are authorized to work in the United States.
The new Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification changes the list of acceptable documents for proving identity and employment authorization. The USCIS announced earlier this year that it would require employers to start using the new form on April 3, 2009, after a number of delays were ordered. Businesses are required to use the new form for all new hires as well as for employees who must be "re-verified" because their work authorization expired.
The revised I-9 includes several important changes to make the verification process more secure, says the USCIS:
- Employers are no longer able to accept expired documents to verify employees' work eligibility.
- List A documents -- documents that do double duty as proof of both identity and eligibility to work in the United States -- no longer include forms I-688 (temporary resident card) and I-688A and I-688B (outdated employment authorization cards).
- The form adds certain foreign passports to the acceptable List A documents.
- The new form includes minor technical changes in the language where employees attest that the information they provided is valid.
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