USCIS Issues Final Rule on Employment Eligibility Verification Form

April 14, 2011

Final Rule Adopts Interim Rule Improving Integrity of Form I-9 Process

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced a final rule that adopts, without change, an interim rule to improve the integrity of the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) process. USCIS received approximately 75 public comments in response to the interim rule, which has been in effect since April 3, 2009.
 
The main changes made by the interim rule and adopted by the final rule include: prohibiting employers from accepting expired documents; revising the list of acceptable documents by removing outdated documents and making technical amendments; and adding documentation applicable to certain citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. 

Employers must complete Form I-9 for all newly hired employees to verify their identity and authorization to work in the United States. The list of acceptable documents that employees may present to verify their identity and employment authorization is divided into three sections: List A documents, which show identity and employment authorization; List B documents, which show identity only; and List C documents, which show employment authorization only. 

The final rule will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow and will be available at www.uscis.gov.  The final rule is effective on May 16, 2011. Employers may continue to use the current version of the Form I-9 (Rev. 08/07/2009) or the previous version (Rev. 02/02/2009).  The Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I-9 (M-274) was updated on Jan. 5, 2011, and is available for review at www.uscis.gov/files/form/m-274.pdf (PDF).

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