U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") has issued a revised Form I 9, Employment Eligibility Verification form (the "Revised Form I 9") that all U.S. employers must use beginning January 22, 2017, for all new hires on or after this date. The Revised Form I 9 must also be used in any of the limited situations in which an current employee must complete the Revised Form I 9. Note that current employees are not required to complete the Revised Form I 9 if they already have on file a current and valid Form I 9 that does not require reverification or substantial correction.
The Revised Form I 9 has a November 14, 2016 revision date. Employers may continue using the old Form I 9 (with a March 8, 2013 revision date) until January 21, 2017. The revisions made to Form I 9 are designed to reduce errors in completing the form as well as to make it easier to pre fill certain parts of the form electronically. The Revised Form I 9 is however not a truly electronic form; therefore, while the Revised Form I 9 allows for parts of the form to be completed electronically, it must still be printed and signed by the employee and employer if the employer has not moved over to a fully electronic Form I 9 system compliant with USCIS's strict electronic Form I 9 rules.
The revisions to the Form I 9 include drop down lists and calendars for filling in dates, on screen instructions for each field, a separation of the instructions from the Form I 9 itself, prompts to ensure required fields are not missed, the ability to enter multiple preparers and translators, a dedicated area for additional information (rather than having to use the margins), and the automatic inclusion of a quick response ("QR") code.
The Revised Form I 9 also requires certain spaces not be left blank, even if they are not applicable or are optional. These spaces include: Middle Initial, Other Last Names Used, Employment Authorization Expiration Date, Alien Registration/USCIS Number, Form I 94 Admission Number, Foreign Passport Number, Country of Issuance, E mail Address, and Telephone Number, Document Number and Expiration Date.
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