By way of background, nearly a year ago, USCIS published the first draft of the new form. Then in August, USCIS proposed a few updates to the draft after reviewing over 6000 public comments. As a quick overview, key changes you can expect to see on the new form:
• New data fields, including the employee’s foreign passport information, phone number and email address;
• Expanded form instructions; and
• Revised form layout, increasing the paper form from one to two pages.
The new addition of the Form I-9 will take effect immediately on publication. However, employers can continue to use the previous versions of the Form I-9 (Rev. 08/07/09 and Rev. 02/02/09) for 60 days after the new Form I-9 is released.
The new fields added to the form will probably have the greatest impact on employers since hiring managers will need to be trained to recognize the new fields, understand their significance, and be able to apply the compliance rules to ensure the form’s proper completion. Yes, the new fields do mean that the U.S. Government has made the most complicated one page form in the universe even more complicated! Of course, the expanded instructions are important since many employers and employees rely upon the instructions as the sole source of guidance for how to complete the complex form.
Given that the new Form I-9 will impact the hiring process of all employers, many companies are thinking about taking this opportunity to go electronic. If you are required to integrate a new Form I-9 into your business process, why not examine how an electronic I-9 solution can do most of the implementation work for you while dramatically improving compliance and efficiency? If you are ready or willing to switch to an automated I-9 system, make sure the system you adopt is poised to implement the new Form I-9 and meets or exceeds electronic Form I-9 requirements, such as Tracker I-9 .
Source: E-Verify & I-9 News
This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.
