USCIS issues new form (UPDATED)

Without fanfare, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released a new Employment Eligibility Verification Form, I-9.

The form reduces the number of documents employees may use to prove their eligibility to work in the United States by five. Employers may no longer accept the following documents when filling out Section 2 of the form:

Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561)
Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)
Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151)
Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327)
Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)

The I-9 form, Employment Eligibility Verification, is a mandatory employment form. All employees, citizens and noncitizens, hired after November 6, 1986 and working in the United States must complete this form at the time of hire. This applies to all employers and they must retain the completed form for three years after the date of hire or one year after the date employment ends, whichever is later. An individual may not begin employment unless this form has been completed and employers are subject to civil and criminal penalties if they do not comply with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The revised form was released in the Federal Register 11/26/07 and is effective immediately. Because of the short notice, the CIS will allow a 30 day grace period for employers to start using the revised form.

The link below will take you to the Federal Register document published on 11/26/2007.