On August 1st, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services released an updated Form I-9, which can be found here.
The most recent prior version of I-9 (Revision 10/21/19) will still be accepted until October 31, 2023, at which point the current update (known as Revision 08/01/223) will be the only valid and acceptable version of the form. Employers do not need to fill out a new version of the form for current employees that already have properly filled-out and submitted forms processed in the system unless reverification is necessary at some point after October 31, 2023.
There are a number of substantial changes in the latest update. From a structural standpoint, Section 1, which covers preparer/translator certification, and Section 3, which covers reverification and rehiring, have been removed from the primary I-9 form and now serve as standalone documents labeled Supplements A & B. Further, the instructions section has been reduced by almost half - down from 15 pages to 8.
Updates have also been made in terms of content, with the phrase “alien authorized to work” now replaced by the term “noncitizen authorized to work” and an additional checkbox was included in the new version that employers can tick in the event that the alternative verification procedure was used to examine employee documentation.
The new version of the I-9 form can also be accessed, filled-out, and submitted electronically via tablets and mobile devices now, as well.
Further, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services have unveiled an alternative procedure for remote verification which enables qualified employers to verify the documentation of employees hired on or after August 1, 2023 via duplicate copies and to verify the employee identity via live video meeting.
In order to meet the requisite qualifications to utilize this alternative procedure, employers must be in good standing in the federal E-Verify system. It’s also important to note that employers are not permitted to choose whether or not to use this alternative procedure with employees on a case-by-case basis linked to some attribute of the employee such as immigration status, for example, but instead employers offering this option must offer the alternative procedures to all employees at a given hiring site and/or who share a common remote-worker status.
This alternative procedure can be used to meet the physical verification requirement for all I-9 forms and accompanying documentation that were initially verified under the less stringent COVID-19-inspired verification procedures, as well. In order to qualify to use the alternative procedure for these cases, employers must have been registered in the E-Verify system when they opened the new case (except in instances of reverification). Further, qualifying cases would have had to have been opened sometime in the window between March 20, 2020 and July 31 2023.
To avoid any potential compliance-related issues, employers would be well-served by reviewing the new Form I-9 and alternative procedure for remote verification prior to updating their own internal processes and procedures accordingly.
You can read more about this topic here.
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