A new employee eligibility form will be required for new hires beginning in January.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a revised Form I-9 “Employment Eligibility Verification” for use with all new hires Nov. 14.  Employers must use the revised form beginning Jan. 22.

The Form I-9 is used to verify an employee’s identity and authorization to work and applies to both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. 

Several changes have been made to the Form I-9 including: Section 1 requires only “other last names used” rather than “other names used;” streamlines certification for certain foreign nationals; the addition of prompts to ensure information is entered correctly; space to enter multiple preparers and translators; a supplemental page for the preparer/translator; dedicated space for noting additional information rather than having to use the margins; and the instructions are now separate from the form and include field-specific instructions.

USCIS notes that its new digital version of Form I-9 is more “computer-friendly” and designed to reduce errors by including: drop-down lists and calendars for date input; on-screen instructions by field; access to the full instructions; checks to ensure information is entered correctly; a button to clear the form and start over; and a print button. Additionally, after the employer prints the digital Form I-9, a quick response (QR) code is automatically generated which can be read by most QR readers.

Click here to view I-9 Central additional information and resources.