The current Employment Eligibility Verification Form, referred to as Form I-9, expired Aug. 31, 2012. Once it expired, what should employers do? All U.S. employers must complete and retain a Form I-9 for all citizens and noncitizens they hire for employment in the United States, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Continue to use the current Form I-9 for Employment Eligibility Verification! Stay current on the changes to the Form I-9, and prepare to update your process when the new version is released.
Best Practices that Employers Should Consider:
- New company owners should do an audit of existing I-9 (fines can be $100-$1100 per each I-9)
- Ensure all I-9’s are fully completed and on file in case of audit.
- All documentation must be completed within 3 days of the employee’s hire date and kept in a separate file.
- Do not require employees to provide CERTAIN documents such as drivers license and social security card. Provide the form to employees and let them choose which documents they want to provide.
- Do not accept any expired documents or copies of documents.
- Retain I-9 documents for all terminated employees (less than 2 years employment must keep at least 3 years from termination; more than 3 years employed then one year after termination)
The new Form I-9 is expected to have the following changes:
- Expanded Form I-9 instructions and a revised layout.
- New, optional data fields to collect the employee’s e-mail address and telephone number.
- New data fields to collect the foreign passport number and country of issuance. This applies only to aliens authorized to work in the U.S. who have also recorded their Form I-94 admission number on the Form I-9.
Reference: By R. Maurer, Form I-9 Expired Aug. 31, 2012, SHRM.org
