On October 25, 2023, the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) sent out this stakeholder message:
Starting November 1, 2023, all employers must use the revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, with the edition date 08/01/23, when completing the employment eligibility verification process. This updated Form I-9 reflects the option for eligible employers to verify employment eligibility remotely. This edition is available now, and starting November 1, all previous versions will no longer be accepted. If you do not use the 8/01/23 edition of Form I-9, you may be subject to penalties.
Changes to Form I-9
The changes to Form I-9 reflect USCIS’ efforts to improve the customer experience, and we will continue to review the agency’s customer experience initiatives and offer additional recommendations.
| Previous Form I-9 (Edition date: 10/21/2019) No longer valid |
Current Form I-9 (Edition date: 08/01/23) |
|---|---|
| Sections 1 and 2 on two separate pages | Sections 1 and 2 reduced to one page |
| Not easily fillable | Designed to be a fillable form on tables and mobile devices |
| "Preparer and/or Translator Certification" portion is in Section 1 | "Preparer and/or Translator Certification" portion is now a separate Supplement A on page 3 to be used as needed |
| Section 3, "Reverification and Rehire” a part of main Form I-9 | “Reverification and Rehire” section is now a separate Supplement B on page 4 to be used as needed |
| Information on acceptable receipts is in the instructions, not the "Lists of Acceptable Documents” | “Lists of Acceptable Documents” now include acceptable receipt notices and more information on automatic extensions of employment authorization documents (EADs) |
| Instructions are 15 pages | Instructions are 8 pages |
| No clear way for employers to indicate they used optional alternatives, when available, to examine Form I-9 documentation | Checkbox in Section 2 (under “Additional Information”) for eligible employers to indicate they examined Form I-9 documents remotely |
Remote Employment Eligibility Verification
Starting July 21, 2023, if you are an employer enrolled in E-Verify, you may remotely examine your employees’ identity and employment authorization documents using the process in Section 4.5 Remote Document Examination (Optional Alternative Procedure to Physical Document Examination) of the Handbook for Employers (M-274). If you verify the documents remotely, remember to check the box labeled “Check here if you used an alternative procedure authorized by DHS to examine documents” in the “Additional Information” box in Section 2 of Form I-9.
For FAQs on remotely examining Form 1-9 documents, see Optional Alternative 1 to the Physical Document Examination Associated With Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) in the Federal Register.
More Information
Go to USCIS’ I-9 Central and its July 21, 2023 web alert for more information. USCIS also offers free employer training on completing Form I-9. You can sign up on USCIS’ Employment Eligibility Webinars page.
To learn about penalties for Form I-9 violations, see U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Form I-9 Inspection page and Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act.