New I-9 Form In Effect

From April 16, 2009, all employers should begin using the new updated I-9 form. Expired identity documents will no longer be accepted on the new form. This is the biggest difference between the new version and the previous version of the I-9 form.

The Department of Homeland Security wants to ensure that “documents presented for use in the Form I-9 process must be valid and reliably establish both identity and employment authorization.” This is what the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) notes.

The newest I-9 form adds a number of documents to List A, including:
Foreign passports with machine-readable immigrant visas
Passports from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) or
Passports from the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI)
Along with Form I-94 or Form I-94A indicating nonimmigrant admission under the Compact of Free Association Between the United States and the FSM or RMI

Besides that, the new I-9 form also eliminates several documents from List A, items that establish both identity and employment authorization.

The new I-9 was originally slated to be used beginning February 2, 2009. However, the Obama Administration gave employers an extra month to adjust to the new document.