November 14, 2016

By:  Laurie A. Petersen and Samantha J. Wood

Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a revised version of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9.  While this revised form is available now for use, employers may continue using the March 2013 version until January 21, 2017.  After January 21, 2017, employers MUST use the revised form, available at: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9

The revised Form I-9 is much more user-friendly, containing the following changes:

• Electronic buttons that allow users to: access the full instructions, print the form, and clear the form to start over.
• Electronic buttons that provide drop down instructions.
• Prompts and validations to ensure information is entered correctly.
• Drop down lists and calendars.
• Section 1 asks for “other last names used” rather than “other names used.”
• Additional space to allow the entry of multiple preparers and translators and an additional box labeled “I did not use a preparer or translator.”
• A supplemental page for the preparer/translator.
• A dedicated area for including additional information rather than having to add it in the margins.
• The removal of the requirement that immigrants authorized to work provide both their Form I-94 number and foreign passport information.
• A new “Citizenship/Immigration Status” field.
• A quick response (QR) code, which is automatically generated when the employer prints the form.

If you have questions about this material, please contact Laurie A. Petersen or Samantha J. Wood by email at lpetersen@lindner-marsack.com or swood@lindner-marsack.com, or any other attorney you have been working with here at Lindner & Marsack, S.C.