The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 for use on March 8, 2013. Form I-9 is used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens.
According to the USCIS, improvements to Form I-9 include new fields, reformatting to reduce errors, and clearer instructions to both employees and employers. The Department of Homeland Security published a Notice in the Federal Register informing employers about the new Form I-9.
Effective 03/08/13, employers should begin using the newly revised Form I-9 (Rev. 03/08/13)N for all new hires and reverifications. Employers may continue to use previously accepted revisions (Rev.02/02/09)N and (Rev. 08/07/09) Y until May 7, 2013. After May 7, 2013, employers must only use Form I-9 (Rev. 03/08/13)N. The revision date of the Form I-9 is printed on the lower left corner of the form. Employers should not complete a new Form I-9 for current employees if a properly completed Form I-9 is already on file.
The revised forms are available in English and Spanish online at www.uscis.gov. To order forms, employers may call USCIS toll-free at 1-800-870-3676. For downloadable forms and further information on USCIS programs, immigration laws, regulations, and procedures, please visit www.uscis.gov.