Federal Register: November 26, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 226)
DOCID: fr26no07-59 FR Doc 07-5790
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
RIN ID: RIN 1615-ZA57
CIS ID: [CIS No. 2419-07; DHS Docket No.: USCIS-2007-0044]
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCID: fr26no07-59
ACTION: Immigration:
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Introduction of the Amended Form I-9 and the New Handbook for Employers
DATES: This Notice is effective November 26, 2007.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is issuing this Notice to introduce the newly amended Form I9, ``Employment Eligibility Verification.'' Employers are required to use the Form I9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of newly hired employees. The amended Form I9 contains an updated list of acceptable identity and employment authorization documents that reflect the current regulations. As of November 7, 2007, the amended Form I9 is the only valid version of the form. The Department of Homeland Security will not seek penalties against an employer for using a previous version of the Form I9 on or before December 26, 2007.
SUMMARY:
Amended Form I-9 and Handbook for employees,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
I. Background
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), Public Law 104208, 110 Stat. 3009 (Sept. 30, 1996), amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to reduce the number of documents that an employer may accept from newly hired employees when verifying their identity and employment eligibility (i.e., authorization) as required by law. IIRIRA section 412(a) (amending INA sec. 274A(b)(1), 8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)). On September 30, 1997, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) published an interim rule, ``Interim Designation of Acceptable Documents for Employment Verification,'' implementing those amendments. See 62 FR 51001. However, INS did not concurrently amend the Form I9, ``Employment Eligibility Verification,'' that employers must use to conduct the required verification to reflect the changes made by the interim rule. As a result, the Form I9 (Rev. 053105) contained an outdated list of acceptable documents.
In the supplementary information accompanying the 1997 interim
rule, the INS stated that it planned to issue a new Form I9 in the
context of a broader final rulemaking. While U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS), which now maintains the Form I9, still
intends to pursue a broader rulemaking, given the long passage of time
since the interim rule, allowing an outdated Form I9 to remain in use
has become untenable. Therefore, USCIS has amended the Form I9
document list to be consistent with the regulations. On November 7,
2007, USCIS posted the amended Form I9 on its Web site, at http://www.uscis.gov. The amended Form I9 has a revision date of June 5,
2007, which is printed as ``(Rev. 06/05/07)N'' on the lower right
corner of the form. As of November 7, 2007, this is the only valid version of the form.
This Notice introduces the newly amended Form I9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N and instructs employers on its use.
II. Changes to Form I9
A. List ARevised
Because the 1997 interim rule was limited to Form I9 List A documents, the amended Form I9 reflects changes to the documents listed under List A only. List A documents are those that evidence both an individual's identity and employment eligibility. The amended Form I9 no longer lists the following as List A documents: (1) The Certificate of United States Citizenship (Form N560 or N561); (2) the Certificate of Naturalization (Form N550 or N570); (3) the Form I 151, a long outofdate version of the Alien Registration Receipt Card (``green card''); (4) the Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I327); and (5) the Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form 1571).
The amended Form I9 retains four types of acceptable List A documents: (1) The U.S. Passport (unexpired or expired); (2) the Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I 551); (3) an unexpired foreign passport with a temporary I551 stamp; and (4) an unexpired Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I766, I688, I688A, I688B). All of these acceptable List A documents were carried over from the previous Form I9, with the exception of the Form I766, which is a new addition to List A. The amended Form I9 also modifies one acceptable List A document. The List A document entitled, ``unexpired foreign passport with an attached Form I94 indicating unexpired employment authorization,'' has been replaced by ``an unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired ArrivalDeparture Record, Form I94, bearing the same name as the passport and containing an endorsement of the alien's nonimmigrant status, if that status authorizes the alien to work for the employer.''
USCIS also has amended the order and organization of List A to track the regulations more directly. For example, the various Employment Authorization Documents are listed together as one category, and the unexpired foreign passport with temporary I551 stamp is a separate entry from the unexpired passport with Form I94 indicating an employerspecific workauthorized nonimmigrant status.
This updating of List A on the Form I9 should help streamline the hiring process by providing employers with a better means of conforming their document acceptance practices with the requirements of the law. List A on the newly amended Form I9 has been the regulatory List A since 1997, and, therefore, employers should not have been accepting documents not included in the regulatory list.
Given the discrepancy between the Form I9 and the regulations,
however, the INS and, subsequently, the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) withheld enforcement of civil money penalties for violations
associated with the changes made by the 1997 interim rule as a
temporary transitional measure. 62 FR at 51002. With an amended Form I
9 now available that includes the correct List A, that policy is no
longer necessary. Therefore, DHS has determined that the non enforcement policy will cease as of December 26, 2007.
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B. Other Changes
The amended Form I9 now instructs employees that providing their Social Security number in Section 1 of the form is voluntary, pursuant to section 7 of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a note). However, employees must provide their Social Security number in section 1 of the form if their employer participates in EVerify (the employment eligibility verification program formerly known as Basic Pilot or EEV), as provided by section 403(a)(1)(A) of IIRIRA. Moreover, for employees who present their Social Security account number card to their employer as evidence that they are authorized to work in the United States, the employer must record the Social Security Account number in section 2 of the Form I9.
The amended Form I9 also includes various nonsubstantive changes to the organization and content of the form instructions to be more consistent with standard USCIS branding practices, such as including a clarification that there is no filing fee associated with the Form I9. III. Use of the Amended Form I9
As of November 7, 2007, the Form I9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N is the only version of the form that is valid for use. DHS recognizes that employers should be afforded a period of time to transition to the amended Form I9. Therefore, DHS will not seek penalties against an employer for using a previous version of the Form I9 on or before December 26, 2007. After December 26, 2007, employers who fail to use Form I9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N may be subject to all applicable penalties under section 274A of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324a, as enforced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Note that employers do not need to complete the amended Form I9 for current employees for whom there is already a properly completed Form I9 on file. Indeed, unnecessary verification may violate the INA's antidiscrimination provision, section 274B of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324b, which is enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices. However, employers must use Form I9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N for any reverification of employment authorization conducted on or after December 26, 2007. Reverification is required when the Form I9 indicates that the employee's work authorization will expire. To reverify, employers must examine acceptable Form I9 documents evidencing that the employee remains authorized to work. See 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(vii).
IV. Obtaining Forms I9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N
Employers may access the amended Form I9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N online at http://www.uscis.gov. In addition, a newly revised ``Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I9, (M274)'' is available online at http://www.uscis.gov. Because of its length, the revised M274 will not be reprinted in the Federal Register. To order USCIS forms, call our tollfree number at 18008703676. The public can get USCIS forms and information on immigration laws, regulations and procedures by telephoning our National Customer Service Center at 18003755283.
A Spanishlanguage version of the amended Form I9 is available at
http://www.uscis.gov for use in Puerto Rico only. The Spanishlanguage
Form I9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N is valid as of November 7, 2007. This updated
Spanishlanguage version of the Form I9 supersedes all previous
versions. Employers in Puerto Rico who continue to use previous
editions of the Form I9 in English or Spanish after December 26, 2007 may be subject to fines and penalties.
Dated: November 16, 2007.
Emilio T. Gonzalez,
Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Note: The Form I9 is provided as an attachment to this notice. BILLING CODE 441010P
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[FR Doc. 075790 Filed 112007; 12:29 pm]
BILLING CODE 441010C
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Gregory Francis, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Verification Division, 470490 L'Enfant Plaza East, SW., Suite 8206, Washington, DC 20024; Email: employer.pilots@dhs.gov; Telephone: 1 8884644218.