On January 31, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new version of the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification. Form I-9 is used to verify the identity and legal authorization to work of all paid employees in the United States.
The prior form expired on August 31, 2019, however the USCIS confirmed that the expired version of the form was acceptable to use until a new one was released. As such, employers are required to transition to the new Form I-9 by May 1, 2020.
It is important to note that the paper I-9 form has not changed, but the electronic form has a few differences from the prior version. Specifically, the new electronic form:
- Lists additional countries (Eswatini and Macedonia) in the country of issuance field;
- Clarifies who can act as an authorized employer representative;
- Updates the USCIS website address;
- Clarifies the list of acceptable documents;
- Updates the process for requesting paper versions of the form; and
- Updates the privacy notice from the Department of Homeland Security.
The new Form I-9 is set to expire October 31, 2022, until that time employers must transition to the new form and should continue to review updates from the USCIS for any additional information and possible updates on a new form closer to 2022.
Contact your Cowden representative for more information on this or other compliance issues.