Deadline For Revised I-9 Form

A revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, the form that must be completed by all employers to verify the employment eligibility of every new hire, was recently released in the Federal Register and is effective immediately. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has also adopted a revised layout for the form.

The USCIS will allow a 60-day grace period. The revised version became the only acceptable version of the form as of May 7, 2013. Also, employers are required to make their employees’ Forms I-9 available for inspection upon request by officers of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, and the Department of Labor. Failure by an employer to ensure proper completion and retention of Forms I-9 may subject the employer to civil monetary penalties and, in some cases, criminal penalties.

The revised Form I-9 is available for download on the USCIS website.