As we reported last month, the Federal Register published the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) interim final rule revising the types of documents employers may accept when completing the Form I-9. Most notably, the interim rule adds new List A documents that employers may accept as proof of identity and employment authorization, eliminates some documents from List A, and prohibits employers from accepting any expired documents. Our previous Alert about this rule may be found at http://www.btlaw.com/News.asp?News_ID=19085.
When published, the interim final rule required employers to start using the new Form I-9 on Feb. 2, 2009. However, the USCIS recently announced that it has delayed the implementation of the final rule by 60 days. Therefore, employers should not start using the new form until April 3, 2009. Until April 3, employers should continue to use the June 5, 2007 edition of the form, which is available at http://www.uscis.gov. The comment period for this rule has also been extended for 30 days, until March 4, 2009.
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