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.
