August 1, 2023 • News

Revised Form I-9 Features Significant Changes

Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification (Rev. 08/01/23) is available to be downloaded from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website. USCIS made significant changes to the form and its instructions, including a checkbox to indicate that an employee’s Form I-9 documentation was examined using a Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-authorized alternative procedure. 

This optional procedure is an alternative to the in-person physical examination of documentation related to the completion of Form I-9. It is only available to employers who use E-Verify and are in good standing.  Qualified employers must:

• expand document retention requirements to include clear and legible copies of all presented documents for Form I-9;
• ensure all users who manage and create E-Verify cases complete the E-Verify tutorial; and
• conduct a live video interaction after the employee transmits a copy of the document(s) to the employer, offers at least an equivalent level of security as compared to physical document examination.

Eligible employers will not be required to physically inspect the documentation of employees hired under COVID flexibilities if they meet certain requirements.  Eligible employers using the new Form I-9 must indicate on the form that an alternative procedure was used to examine the documentation for either Section 2 or when conducting re-verification by completing the corresponding box on the form. For more information, see the (unpublished) DHS final rule.

Along with the addition of the checkbox, the revised form also:

• is designed to be a fillable form on tablets and mobile devices
• revises the list of acceptable documents to include some acceptable receipts
• moves the Section 1 Preparer/Translator Certification area to a separate, standalone supplement that employers can provide to employees when necessary
• moves Section 3, Reverification and Rehire, to a standalone supplement that employers can print if or when rehire occurs or reverification is required

Employers may continue using the prior version (Rev. 10/21/19) through October 31, 2023. Beginning November 1, 2023, employers who fail to use Form I-9 (Rev. 08/01/23) may be subject to penalties. See the USCIS notice for more information.