Article courtesy of SBAM Approved Partner ASE
By Eric Brown
The current Form I-9, the Employment Eligibility Verification Form, officially expires August 31, 2012. Are you concerned about what to do beginning September 1?
Per the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the purpose of the I-9 form is to document that each new employee (both citizen and noncitizen) hired after November 6, 1986, is authorized to work in the United States.
Not to worry. On August 13, 2012, USCIS announced that the most recent version of Form I-9 will remain valid despite the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) expiration date of Aug. 31, 2012.
To date, the USCIS has yet to offer a replacement form. In similar situations previously, the USCIS has allowed the use of the expired I-9 form until a new one has been issued. According to USCIS, this form should continue to be used even after the OMB control number expiration date of August 31, 2012 has passed. USCIS will provide updated information about the new version of the Form I-9 as it becomes available. The current I-9 form can be found on the USCIS website.
According to Ann Cun, an immigration attorney and counsel for LawLogix Group:
The standard procedure is for the form to be re-issued as is with an updated renewal date. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what happens. It will buy USCIS and the Office of Management and Budget more time to eke out an updated form and then publish their findings in the Federal Register.
In March, USCIS published a proposed new form and requested input on revisions to the I-9 that would lighten the burden of completing the information required. Specifically, the USCIS requested input on:
- Expanded Form I-9 instructions and a revised layout.
- New, optional data fields to collect the employee’s e-mail address and telephone number.
- New data fields to collect the foreign passport number and country of issuance. This applies only to aliens authorized to work in the U.S. who have also recorded their Form I-94 admission number on the Form I-9.
The USCIS has not published the revisions in final form. Until the USCIS advises otherwise, employers should continue to use the current form, which it last revised on August 7, 2009.