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On July 17, 2017 the USCIS released a revised version of the Form I-9, which must be used no later than September 18, 2017. Failure to adapt to the new form could expose employers to the possibility of large fines.
Take a look in the past and you won’t have to go very far before you find the most recent Form I-9 update. In fact, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) just published the most recent version of the Form I-9 eight months ago. Or should I say, “2nd most recent?”
What has changed?
Changes to the new Form I-9 are very subtle and affect the form’s instructions and list of acceptable documents. This edit to the Form I-9 was made to make the form easier to navigate. With the exception of minor edits to the wording contained within the form, the new version renumbers all of the List C documents with the exception of the Social Security Card.
Other changes to the Form I-9 include the addition of prompts to ensure that information is entered correctly, as well as the ability to use an area of the document for additional information rather than being forced to write this information in the margins of the Form I-9. You can also now include multiple preparers and translators along with a supplemental page for the preparer or translator to complete.
Conclusion
While these newest changes to the Form I-9 are minor, failure to use the new form correctly by the September 18, 2017 deadline can result in major fines. Because of this, it makes sense to scrap the November 2016 version of the Form I-9 and begin using the updated version as soon as possible to ensure compliance by the September 18 deadline.