Employers are Required to Start Using the New I-9 Form Today

 Use the new I-9 Form for new hires and employees for whom an I-9 has not been completed

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, and beginning today, employers must use the new version to verify employment eligibility of all new hires, as well as any employees for whom a completed I-9 is not already on file with the employer. Employers do not need to have existing employees complete new forms. Employers should discard their old hard copy or PDF forms so they do not get used accidentally.

In the new Form I-9, which is dated 7/17/17 and has an expiration date of 8/31/2019, USCIS added the Consular Report of Birth Abroad to the List of Acceptable Documents. Otherwise, the changes are non-substantive. Regardless, failure to use the new form can result in significant fines. The new Form I-9 can be downloaded from the USCIS website, here: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9.

If you have any questions related to this announcement or other employment law matters, contact Sheila Gladstone, Chair of Lloyd Gosselink’s Employment Law Practice Group, at 512.322.5863 or sgladstone@lglawfirm.com; or Ashley Thomas, Associate in the Employment Law Practice Group, at 512.322.5881 or athomas@lglawfirm.com.