USCIS Encourages Public to Comment on Form I-9 Revisions

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published on March 27 a notice in the Federal Register inviting public comment on a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Employers must complete Form I-9 for all newly-hired employees to verify their identity and authorization to work in the United States. The public is invited to comment on the revisions until May 29, 2012.

Key revisions to the form include:

               Expanded Form I-9 instructions and a revised layout.

               New, optional data fields to collect the employee’s email address and telephone number.

               New data fields to collect the foreign passport number and country of issuance. Only aliens authorized to work in the U.S. who have also recorded their I-94 admission number on Form I-9 will need to provide the foreign passport number and country of issuance.

The public may comment on the revisions by visiting www.regulations.gov, which provides instructions on how to comment on the proposed revisions to Form I-9. The comment period runs for 60 days, beginning today and ending May 29, 2012.

The current version of Form I-9 is available on USCIS’s online I-9 resource center at www.uscis.gov/I-9central. I-9 Central includes information about employer and employee rights and responsibilities, step-by-step instructions for completing the form, and information on acceptable documents for establishing identity and employment authorization.

USCIS will post information regarding a new Form I-9 on I-9 Central once the form has been finalized. Until a new version is approved and posted, employers must continue to use the current version of the form.