U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced
today the release of the new I-9 Employment Eligibility
Verification Form. All employers are required to use the new I-9 immediately to verify the identity and
employment authorization eligibility of their employees.
Although USCIS requires employers to use the new Form I-9 beginning
today, USCIS has provided a 60-day grace period for employers to
continue to use the current version of the form issued 08/07/09
(the 02/02/09 version is also still valid) until May 7, 2013.
Failure of an employer to ensure proper completion and retention of
Forms I-9 may subject an employer to civil money penalties of up to
$1,100 per I-9, and, in some cases, criminal penalties.
Although the new two-page Form I-9 mainly contains format changes,
additional data fields, and further instructions to the employer,
it increases the administrative burden placed on employers.
