New I-9 Form Will Be Mandatory Starting in September
From shrm.org:
“The newest version of the Form I-9 was published by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on July 17th, 2017.
The form, used by employers to verify employment eligibility, will be mandatory beginning September 18th, 2017.
“Employers will be able to use this revised version or continue using Form I-9 with a revision date of 11/14/16 N through September 17,” the agency said. “On September 18, employers must use the revised form with a revision date of 07/17/17 N.”
Current storage and retention rules have not changed.”
What You Should Know:
Changes to the form
The USCIS has changed the name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices to its new name: Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
They also removed the words “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment.”
Revisions to the list of acceptable documents
The Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) has been added to List C. If you’re filling out the Form I-9 online, you will be able to select this form from the dropdown menus. Using e-verify? You can also select Form FS-240 when creating a case for an employee who presents this document for Form I-9.
All the certifications of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350 and Form FS-240) have been combined into selection C #2 in List C.
All List C documents except the Social Security card have been renumbered. Example: The employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security on List C has changed from List C #8 to List C #7.
What To Do:
Employers can continue using the older version through September 17th. On September 18th, you must use the revised version. You’ll notice the revision date of 07/17/17 N at the bottom of the form. Storage and retention rules for any previously completed Forms I-9 remain the same. More details on that can be found here.
Penalties For Noncompliance:
Just last year, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) nearly doubled fines for violations with Forms I-9.
There is a $216 – $2,126 fine per Form I-9 paperwork violation. That’s an increase from $110 – $1,100.
For unlawful employment of unauthorized workers, the fine for the first offense increased to $539 – $4,313 per worker from $375 – $3,200.
For unfair immigration-related practices, specifically document abuse, the fine per individual increased to $110 – $1,110.
You can learn more about the fines and penalties by clicking here.
Where to Find the Latest Form:
Right here on our website! We’ve got it ready for you in our resources section. Click here to access our downloadable forms and select “I9 Form [PDF]”.
Don’t hesitate to contact us today if you have any questions or need any assistance in keeping up with ever-changing HR laws and regulations!
- Jason Saul, Director of Sales
- 610-644-4569
- jason@prfusa.com