As many Human Resources Professionals may be aware, the “new” Form I-9 (the Employment Eligibility Verification Form) will be provided soon. On August 25th 2016, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced that it has cleared the revised Form I-9. For the time being, employers should continue to use the Form I-9 that is on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website with has an expiration date of 3/31/16: The expiration date on the Form can be found on the top right hand corner of the document. Employers are to continue using this version of the Form I-9 until the new and revised version of the I-9 Form has been posted.
As most Human Resource(s) Professionals know, the I-9 Form became a part of the law in 1986 under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). IRCA requires that all employees (not exempt) in the U.S. complete an I-9 Form within three (3) days of hire to avoid civil penalties from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
We are given to understand that the new and revised Form I-9 will be available to the public later this year. The OMB clearance notice states that USCIS has 90 days from August 25th to post the new version of the Form I-9 (along with the instructions on completing the form) on its website. It is anticipated that the USCIS will make public announcement and send a Press Release about the new and revised I-9 Form. Employers will be provided a 150 day grace period to continue using the current version of the Form I-9.
As the Nachman Phulwani Zimovcak (NPZ) Law Group has previously announced, the new and revised Form I-9 will feature new bells and whistles, including additional and detailed instructions, a requirement to confirm whether a preparer or translator was used to complete the Form I-9, a QR code presumably to be used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during audits and for ease of tracking documents provided during an employer during an investigation and some other “user friendly” features that have been purportedly designed to assist in completing the Form I-9.
Nachman Phulwani Zimovcak (NPZ) Law Group, P.C., immigration lawyers and immigration attorneys, continue to assist clients, their families and HR Professionals in organizations of all sizes with a variety of U.S. immigration and nationality issues including the preparation of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. If our immigration and nationality specialist staff can be of any assistance to you, please feel free to e-mail us at info@visaserve.com or to call our offices at 201-670-0006 (x107).