Recent Changes In Immigration Law And Procedure For The New Year

Department Of Homeland Security Interim Rule Revises List Of Acceptable Documents For Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) Process

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), issued an interim rule revising the list of documents acceptable for the employment eligibility verification process. The interim rule, published on December 17, 2008, supersedes a proposed rule issued by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in 1998, which reduced the list of acceptable documents but was never published as a final rule. The rule is effective February 2, 2009.

The most significant change made by the rule is the requirement that all documents presented during the employment eligibility verification process must be unexpired. Currently, US passports and all Form I-9 List B documents (documents that establish only identity) are acceptable, even if they are expired. The rule now requires unexpired