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Ice on Immigration: Employment and the new I-9 form 

By L. Patricia Ice, Featured Columnist

Question: I am an employer in Mississippi.  I have heard there is a new immigration Form 1-9.  Please tell me about any changes to the new form.

Answer: Pursuant to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, all employers are required to keep a Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification on file for each employee.  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a revised Form I-9, and a new Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I-9 (M-274).  Both the Form I-9 and the Employer Handbook are available for download at www.uscis.gov or can be ordered by calling 1-800-870-3676.  As of November 7, 2007 the Form I-9 with a revision date of June 5, 2007 is the only version of the form that is valid for use, although employers do not need to complete new Form I-9s for existing employees unless they require re-verification.

On the new Form I-9, five documents have been removed from List A of the Lists of Acceptable Documents.  They are 1) Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561), 2) Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570), 3) Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-151), 4) Unexpired Re-entry Permit (Form I-327), and 5) Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571).  One document was added to List A of the List of Acceptable Documents: 1) Unexpired Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766).  All of the Employment Authorization Documents with photographs that are in circulation are now included as one item on List A: I-688, I-688-A, I-688-B and I-766.  Instructions regarding Section 1 of Form I-9 now indicate that the employee is not obliged to provide his social security number in section 1 of Form I-9 unless he is employed by an employer who participates in E-Verify.  The section on Photocopying and Retaining Form I-9 now includes information on electronically signing and retaining I-9 forms.  Employers may only accept documents listed on the Lists of Acceptable Documents on Form I-9.  The Form I-9 is available in English and Spanish, however, only employers in Puerto Rico may have employees complete the Spanish version for their records.  Puerto Rican employers are not required to use the Spanish version.  Employers in the 50 states and other U.S. territories may use the Spanish version as a translation guide for Spanish-speaking employees, but must complete the English version and keep the English version in the employer's records.