New Form I-9 Becomes Mandatory on January 22, 2017

USCIS has published the latest version of Form I-9. Employers must use the new version starting January 22, 2017. Employers may continue to use the 2013 version until then.

The new Form I-9 includes minor modifications to the content of certain fields, the addition of “smart” technology to the online PDF version, and significant changes to the Form instructions to accompany the new smart features. For employers who use an electronic Form I-9 system, the impact of these changes will be minimal. For those employers who do not use an electronic Form I-9 system, the addition of smart technology will greatly assist their I-9 compliance efforts.

New Form Changes

• Integration of “smart” technology on the PDF version: For employers who do not use an electronic I-9 system, the smart technology is designed to mimic its compliance features including:
  • Ability to see detailed instructions on completing fields simply by hovering over them.
  • Real-time error notifications to increase compliance; for example users cannot enter expiration dates earlier than the current date or leave mandatory fields blank.
  • Generated QR bar code once the form is completed that can be scanned by auditors from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
• Section 1: Content changes include the option for foreign national employees to enter either their I-94 number or their passport number (previously, both numbers were required). Also there now includes a mandatory attestation concerning whether a translator or prepared was used.
• Section 2: Changes include a new field on the top of the section where the employee’s citizenship/immigration status entered on Section 1 must be listed. There is also a new field allows employers to enter “Additional Information,” such as annotations that employers were previously instructed to write in the margins of the Form.

The Form I-9 instructions are now lengthier due to the addition of the “smart” technology features. USCIS is expected to release the new version of its I-9 Handbook for Employers shortly.

If you have any questions regarding this alert, please contact your designated Gibney representative, or email info@gibney.com.