USCIS Releases New(er) Form I-9 with Mandatory Use Effective September 18, 2017
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published yet another version of the Form I-9 marked with a July 17, 2017 version date.  Starting on September 18, 2017, employers MUST use only this version of the form for all new hires and reverification on any employee with an older version of the form.  

Employers shouldn't complete a new Form I-9 for existing employees unless they have sufficient justification (such as reverification). Without sufficient justification, requiring an existing employee to complete a new Form I-9 may raise discrimination concerns.

The new(er) version has been released to make the following changes.

• Update the List of Acceptable Documents
  • Added Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240), which is issued to certain employees born overseas to a US citizen parent
  • Combined all the certifications of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350 and the Form FS-240)
  • Renumbered all List C documents except the Social Security card
• Update the OSC to the IER
  • The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (“OSC”) changed its name to the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (“IER”)
  • Employers must also take care to follow the anti-discrimination rules very closely and avoid treating an employee differently during the I-9 process.
• Provide Form I-9 Timing Clarification
  • Removed “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment” to clarify completion at the time of hire.

The USCIS has also updated the I-9 handbook (known as the “M-274”) to reflect these changes and to deliver a new online format featuring a selectable table of contents.  

To visit the Form I-9 Section of the USCIS website, please click here. 

When ICE Appears at your Doorstep
As a Chapter, we do everything we can to assist our employers.  In regard to Form I-9 ICE inspections, we’ve been told it’s not a matter of if ICE comes to your doorstep, it’s a matter of when.  That’s why we we’d like to offer you these simple steps to build and maintain a road map of requests and compliance when you hear that knock.

• Request a written Notice of Inspection (NOI) and three days to produce the records.
• Keep copies of all records provided to ICE
• Document all communications with ICE, written or oral