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Form I-9
A new Form I-9 dated June 16, 2008, was approved by the Office of Management and Budget through June 30, 2009. The I-9 Form is required for every new employee hired. It must be retained by the employer for a specific period of time following termination of that employment. In most cases that is three years past the date of hire or one year past the date of employment termination whichever is later.
All employers are required to use this new version of the form on and after June 16, 2008.
The Form I-9 consists of four pages. The first two pages hold abreviated instructions. Page three contains the form that must be completed. And, page four contains the "Lists of Acceptable Documents" that may be used to prove identity and employment eligibility.
There is a shorter list of acceptable documents than there used to be. As employers, we are responsible for ensuring the documents we accept to prove an employees identity and employment eligibility are on the list of permitted documents.
The employee may still choose which documents to use. As employers, we do not have the right to dictate the documents we wish to see. If given a document that is not on the list, we can reject it and point to the list printed on the back of the I-9 Form, asking for one of those specific forms of identification of employment eligibility.
One caution to all employers...
Many of the documents permitted for I-9 support may have expiration dates. It is incumbent upon the employer to confirm that the document has not expired when it is offered for I-9 support. It is also incumbent upon the employer to follow up with employees to get updated versions of any expired document used to prove employment eligibility in this country. If proper documentation is not presented within three days of hire, the employee must be taken off the payroll according to federal law.
The new I-9 Form contains four pages...
Pages 1 & 2 contain abreviated instructions
Page 3 contains the form
Page 4 contains the lists of acceptable documents that can be used to prove identity and employment eligibility.
You should begin using this updated version of the form now. The 2007 version should no longer be used.
Detailed Instruction Booklet
On June 15, 2006, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) published an interim rule permitting U.S. employers to use electronic signatures and retain I-9 Forms electronically if they follow new standards.
The new 2007 instructions contain some information about that subject:
"If you complete Forms I-9 electronically using an electronic signature, you must implement a system for capturing electronic signatures that allows signatories to acknowledge that they read the attestation; and can associate an electronic signature with an electronically completed Form I-9. In addition, the system must:
- Affix the electronic signature at the time of the transaction;
- Create and preserve a record verifying the identity of the person producing the signature; and
- Provide a printed confirmation of the transaction, at the time of the transaction, to the person providing the signature.
"NOTE: If you choose to use electronic signature to complete Form I-9, but do not comply with these standards, DHS will determine that you have not properly completed the Form I-9, in violation of Section 274A(a)(1)(B) of the Act."
If you wish to store your I-9 Forms electronically, there are some specific additional requirements you must meet:
"For each electronic generation or storage system used, you must maintain, and make available upon request, complete descriptions of:
- The electronic generation and storage system, including all procedures relating to its use;
- The indexing system, which permits the identification and retrieval for viewing or reproducing of relevant records maintained in an electronic storage system; and
- The business processes that create, modify, and maintain the retained Forms I-9, and establish the authenticity and integrity of the Forms, such as audit trails.
"Note: Insufficient or incomplete documentation is a violation of section 274A(a)(1)(B) of the Act (8 CFR Part 274a.2(f)(2))."
For a copy of the new I-9 Form, dated June 16, 2008, Click Here. (PDF file, 408 KB)
If you wish to have a copy of the 47-page Instruction Booklet for the 2007 I-9 Form, (dated November 1, 2007), Click Here. (PDF file, 3,263 KB)
For more information about the I-9 Form or other immigration issues, go to the USCIS web site.
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