Introduction of the Amended Form I-9 and the New Handbook for Employers, 65974-65980 [07-5790]

Download as PDF 65974 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 226 / Monday, November 26, 2007 / Notices correspondence received from individuals, employers, and their designated representatives to: (1) Assist individuals and employers in resolving problems during interactions with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS); (2) identify areas in which individuals and employers have problems in dealing with USCIS; and (3) and to the extent possible, propose changes to mitigate problems as mandated by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Section 452. Scott Charbo, Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. E7–22856 Filed 11–21–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4410–10–P DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [CIS No. 2419–07; DHS Docket No.: USCIS– 2007–0044] RIN 1615–ZA57 Introduction of the Amended Form I–9 and the New Handbook for Employers U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS. ACTION: Notice. mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES AGENCY: SUMMARY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is issuing this Notice to introduce the newly amended Form I–9, ‘‘Employment Eligibility Verification.’’ Employers are required to use the Form I–9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of newly hired employees. The amended Form I– 9 contains an updated list of acceptable identity and employment authorization documents that reflect the current regulations. As of November 7, 2007, the amended Form I–9 is the only valid version of the form. The Department of Homeland Security will not seek penalties against an employer for using a previous version of the Form I–9 on or before December 26, 2007. DATES: This Notice is effective November 26, 2007. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Francis, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Verification Division, 470–490 L’Enfant Plaza East, SW., Suite 8206, Washington, DC 20024; E-mail: employer.pilots@dhs.gov; Telephone: 1–888–464–4218. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 VerDate Aug<31>2005 22:03 Nov 23, 2007 Jkt 214001 (IIRIRA), Public Law 104–208, 110 Stat. 3009 (Sept. 30, 1996), amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to reduce the number of documents that an employer may accept from newly hired employees when verifying their identity and employment eligibility (i.e., authorization) as required by law. IIRIRA section 412(a) (amending INA sec. 274A(b)(1), 8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)). On September 30, 1997, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) published an interim rule, ‘‘Interim Designation of Acceptable Documents for Employment Verification,’’ implementing those amendments. See 62 FR 51001. However, INS did not concurrently amend the Form I–9, ‘‘Employment Eligibility Verification,’’ that employers must use to conduct the required verification to reflect the changes made by the interim rule. As a result, the Form I–9 (Rev. 05–31–05) contained an outdated list of acceptable documents. In the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION accompanying the 1997 interim rule, the INS stated that it planned to issue a new Form I–9 in the context of a broader final rulemaking. While U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which now maintains the Form I–9, still intends to pursue a broader rulemaking, given the long passage of time since the interim rule, allowing an outdated Form I–9 to remain in use has become untenable. Therefore, USCIS has amended the Form I–9 document list to be consistent with the regulations. On November 7, 2007, USCIS posted the amended Form I–9 on its Web site, at https://www.uscis.gov. The amended Form I–9 has a revision date of June 5, 2007, which is printed as ‘‘(Rev. 06/05/ 07)N’’ on the lower right corner of the form. As of November 7, 2007, this is the only valid version of the form. This Notice introduces the newly amended Form I–9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N and instructs employers on its use. II. Changes to Form I–9 A. List A—Revised Because the 1997 interim rule was limited to Form I–9 List A documents, the amended Form I–9 reflects changes to the documents listed under List A only. List A documents are those that evidence both an individual’s identity and employment eligibility. The amended Form I–9 no longer lists the following as List A documents: (1) The Certificate of United States Citizenship (Form N–560 or N–561); (2) the Certificate of Naturalization (Form N– 550 or N–570); (3) the Form I–151, a long out-of-date version of the Alien Registration Receipt Card (‘‘green PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 card’’); (4) the Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I–327); and (5) the Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form 1–571). The amended Form I–9 retains four types of acceptable List A documents: (1) The U.S. Passport (unexpired or expired); (2) the Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I–551); (3) an unexpired foreign passport with a temporary I–551 stamp; and (4) an unexpired Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I–766, I–688, I–688A, I–688B). All of these acceptable List A documents were carried over from the previous Form I–9, with the exception of the Form I–766, which is a new addition to List A. The amended Form I–9 also modifies one acceptable List A document. The List A document entitled, ‘‘unexpired foreign passport with an attached Form I–94 indicating unexpired employment authorization,’’ has been replaced by ‘‘an unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired Arrival-Departure Record, Form I–94, bearing the same name as the passport and containing an endorsement of the alien’s nonimmigrant status, if that status authorizes the alien to work for the employer.’’ USCIS also has amended the order and organization of List A to track the regulations more directly. For example, the various Employment Authorization Documents are listed together as one category, and the unexpired foreign passport with temporary I–551 stamp is a separate entry from the unexpired passport with Form I–94 indicating an employer-specific work-authorized nonimmigrant status. This updating of List A on the Form I–9 should help streamline the hiring process by providing employers with a better means of conforming their document acceptance practices with the requirements of the law. List A on the newly amended Form I–9 has been the regulatory List A since 1997, and, therefore, employers should not have been accepting documents not included in the regulatory list. Given the discrepancy between the Form I–9 and the regulations, however, the INS and, subsequently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) withheld enforcement of civil money penalties for violations associated with the changes made by the 1997 interim rule as a temporary transitional measure. 62 FR at 51002. With an amended Form I–9 now available that includes the correct List A, that policy is no longer necessary. Therefore, DHS has determined that the non-enforcement policy will cease as of December 26, 2007. E:\FR\FM\26NON1.SGM 26NON1 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 226 / Monday, November 26, 2007 / Notices B. Other Changes The amended Form I–9 now instructs employees that providing their Social Security number in Section 1 of the form is voluntary, pursuant to section 7 of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a note). However, employees must provide their Social Security number in section 1 of the form if their employer participates in E-Verify (the employment eligibility verification program formerly known as Basic Pilot or EEV), as provided by section 403(a)(1)(A) of IIRIRA. Moreover, for employees who present their Social Security account number card to their employer as evidence that they are authorized to work in the United States, the employer must record the Social Security Account number in section 2 of the Form I–9. The amended Form I–9 also includes various nonsubstantive changes to the organization and content of the form instructions to be more consistent with standard USCIS branding practices, such as including a clarification that there is no filing fee associated with the Form I–9. III. Use of the Amended Form I–9 mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES As of November 7, 2007, the Form I– 9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N is the only version of the form that is valid for use. DHS recognizes that employers should be afforded a period of time to transition to the amended Form I–9. Therefore, DHS will not seek penalties against an VerDate Aug<31>2005 22:03 Nov 23, 2007 Jkt 214001 employer for using a previous version of the Form I–9 on or before December 26, 2007. After December 26, 2007, employers who fail to use Form I–9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N may be subject to all applicable penalties under section 274A of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324a, as enforced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Note that employers do not need to complete the amended Form I–9 for current employees for whom there is already a properly completed Form I–9 on file. Indeed, unnecessary verification may violate the INA’s antidiscrimination provision, section 274B of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324b, which is enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices. However, employers must use Form I–9 (Rev. 06/ 05/07)N for any reverification of employment authorization conducted on or after December 26, 2007. Reverification is required when the Form I–9 indicates that the employee’s work authorization will expire. To reverify, employers must examine acceptable Form I–9 documents evidencing that the employee remains authorized to work. See 8 CFR 274a.2(b)(1)(vii). IV. Obtaining Forms I–9 (Rev. 06/05/ 07)N Employers may access the amended Form I–9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N online at PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 65975 https://www.uscis.gov. In addition, a newly revised ‘‘Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I–9, (M–274)’’ is available online at https://www.uscis.gov. Because of its length, the revised M–274 will not be reprinted in the Federal Register. To order USCIS forms, call our toll-free number at 1–800–870–3676. The public can get USCIS forms and information on immigration laws, regulations and procedures by telephoning our National Customer Service Center at 1–800–375– 5283. A Spanish-language version of the amended Form I–9 is available at https://www.uscis.gov for use in Puerto Rico only. The Spanish-language Form I–9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N is valid as of November 7, 2007. This updated Spanish-language version of the Form I– 9 supersedes all previous versions. Employers in Puerto Rico who continue to use previous editions of the Form I– 9 in English or Spanish after December 26, 2007 may be subject to fines and penalties. Dated: November 16, 2007. Emilio T. Gonzalez, Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Note: The Form I–9 is provided as an attachment to this notice. BILLING CODE 4410–10–P E:\FR\FM\26NON1.SGM 26NON1 VerDate Aug<31>2005 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 226 / Monday, November 26, 2007 / Notices 22:03 Nov 23, 2007 Jkt 214001 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4725 E:\FR\FM\26NON1.SGM 26NON1 EN26NO07.000</GPH> mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES 65976 VerDate Aug<31>2005 22:03 Nov 23, 2007 Jkt 214001 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4725 E:\FR\FM\26NON1.SGM 26NON1 65977 EN26NO07.001</GPH> mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 226 / Monday, November 26, 2007 / Notices VerDate Aug<31>2005 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 226 / Monday, November 26, 2007 / Notices 22:03 Nov 23, 2007 Jkt 214001 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4725 E:\FR\FM\26NON1.SGM 26NON1 EN26NO07.002</GPH> mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES 65978 VerDate Aug<31>2005 22:03 Nov 23, 2007 Jkt 214001 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\26NON1.SGM 26NON1 65979 EN26NO07.003</GPH> mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 226 / Monday, November 26, 2007 / Notices 65980 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 226 / Monday, November 26, 2007 / Notices [FR Doc. 07–5790 Filed 11–20–07; 12:29 pm] BILLING CODE 4410–10–C DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Lori Rinek, Chief, Conservation Planning and Recovery Division, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office at (916) 414–6600. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) and notice of public meetings. Reasonable Accommodation Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and participate in the public meeting should contact Lori Rinek at (916) 414–6600 as soon as possible. In order to allow sufficient time to process requests, please call no later than one week before the public meeting. Information regarding this proposed action is available in alternative formats upon request. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), advise the public that we intend to gather information necessary to prepare, in coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), and Kern County, a joint Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) on the Chevron Lokern Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The HCP is being prepared under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, (Act). Chevron intends to apply for a 50-year incidental take permit from the Service. The permit is needed to authorize the incidental take of threatened and endangered species that could result from oil and gas development and operation activities covered under the HCP. We provide this notice to: (1) Describe the proposed action and possible alternatives; (2) advise other Federal and State agencies, affected Tribes, and the public of our intent to prepare an EIS/EIR; (3) announce the initiation of a public scoping period; and (4) obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues and alternatives to be included in the EIS/EIR. DATES: Submit written comments on or before December 26, 2007. One public meeting will be held on: Thursday, November 29, 2007, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at Kern County Public Services Building, Room 1A, 2700 M Street, Bakersfield, CA 93301. Submit written comments to Lori Rinek, Chief, Conservation Planning and Recovery Division, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, W–2605, Sacramento, CA 95825. Comments may also be sent by facsimile to 916–414– 6713. Background Section 9 of the Act and Federal regulations prohibit the ‘‘take’’ of wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened (16 U.S.C. 1538). The Act defines the term ‘‘take’’ as: To harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect listed species, or to attempt to engage in such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532). Harm includes significant habitat modification or degradation that actually kills or injures listed wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, and sheltering [50 CFR 17.3(c)]. Pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, we may issue permits to authorize ‘‘incidental take’’ of listed species. ‘‘Incidental take’’ is defined by the Act as take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing permits for threatened species and endangered species, respectively, are at 50 CFR 17.32 and 50 CFR 17.22. Take of listed plant species is not prohibited under the Act and cannot be authorized under a section 10 permit. We propose to include plant species on the permit in recognition of the conservation benefits provided for them under a habitat conservation plan. All species included on the permit would receive assurances under the Service’s ‘‘No Surprises’’ regulations found in 50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5). Species proposed for coverage in the HCP are species that are currently listed as federally threatened or endangered or have the potential to become listed during the life of this HCP and have some likelihood to occur within the project area. Should any of these unlisted covered wildlife species become listed under the Act during the term of the permit, take authorization for those species would become effective upon listing. Six plant species and 11 animal species would be covered by the HCP. Species may be added or Fish and Wildlife Service Habitat Conservation Plan for Chevron’s North American Exploration and Production Unit in the Lokern Area of the Southern San Joaquin Valley, Kern County, CA AGENCY: mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Aug<31>2005 22:03 Nov 23, 2007 Jkt 214001 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 deleted during the course of the development of the HCP based on further analysis, new information, agency consultation, and public comment. Currently the following listed plant and animal species are included within the plan: Giant kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ingens), Tipton kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides nitratoides), blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia sila), San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica), California jewelflower (Caulanthus californicus), Kern mallow (Eremalche kernensis), and San Joaquin woolly-threads (Monolopia congdonii). Unlisted species proposed as covered species are the following: San Joaquin antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus nelsoni), Western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugea), shortnosed kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides brevinasus), loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), California horned lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum frontale), American badger (Taxidea taxus), Le Conte’s thrasher (Toxostoma lecontei), heartscale (Atriplex cordulata), Lost Hills crownscale (Atriplex vallicola), and Hoover’s woolly-star (Eriastrum hooveri). The HCP area includes both a permit area and credit area. The permit area consists of those lands where Chevron’s covered activities would occur. The permit area is subdivided into three subsections including (a) 13,333 acres of Chevron owned lands (Chevron Lokern Lands) in western Kern County; (b) 239,207 acres encompassing and surrounding five active oil and gas fields (Five Fields—Buena Vista, Cymric-McKittrick, Kern River, Lost Hills, Midway Sunset) in central and western Kern County; and (c) 14,441 acres adjacent to the Lokern area (Lokern Contiguous Area) in western Kern County. Chevron proposes to mitigate for impacts to covered species that occur on permit lands within the mitigation bank to be established on Chevron Lokern Lands. Additionally, Chevron proposes to sell unused mitigation credits to other parties for their separately approved projects within the credit area, which encompasses approximately 3,100 square miles in central and western Kern County, as well as a small portion of southwestern Kings County. The HCP would result in take authorization for otherwise lawful actions, such as public and private development that may incidentally take or harm animal species or their habitats within the HCP area, and the formation and management of a conservation program for covered species. Activities that may be covered under the HCP within the permit area include: Oil and E:\FR\FM\26NON1.SGM 26NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 226 (Monday, November 26, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65974-65980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5790]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[CIS No. 2419-07; DHS Docket No.: USCIS-2007-0044]
RIN 1615-ZA57


Introduction of the Amended Form I-9 and the New Handbook for 
Employers

AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is issuing this 
Notice to introduce the newly amended Form I-9, ``Employment 
Eligibility Verification.'' Employers are required to use the Form I-9 
to verify the identity and employment authorization of newly hired 
employees. The amended Form I-9 contains an updated list of acceptable 
identity and employment authorization documents that reflect the 
current regulations. As of November 7, 2007, the amended Form I-9 is 
the only valid version of the form. The Department of Homeland Security 
will not seek penalties against an employer for using a previous 
version of the Form I-9 on or before December 26, 2007.

DATES: This Notice is effective November 26, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Francis, Department of 
Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 
Verification Division, 470-490 L'Enfant Plaza East, SW., Suite 8206, 
Washington, DC 20024; E-mail: employer.pilots@dhs.gov; Telephone: 1-
888-464-4218.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 
1996 (IIRIRA), Public Law 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009 (Sept. 30, 1996), 
amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to reduce the number 
of documents that an employer may accept from newly hired employees 
when verifying their identity and employment eligibility (i.e., 
authorization) as required by law. IIRIRA section 412(a) (amending INA 
sec. 274A(b)(1), 8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)). On September 30, 1997, the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) published an interim rule, 
``Interim Designation of Acceptable Documents for Employment 
Verification,'' implementing those amendments. See 62 FR 51001. 
However, INS did not concurrently amend the Form I-9, ``Employment 
Eligibility Verification,'' that employers must use to conduct the 
required verification to reflect the changes made by the interim rule. 
As a result, the Form I-9 (Rev. 05-31-05) contained an outdated list of 
acceptable documents.
    In the supplementary information accompanying the 1997 interim 
rule, the INS stated that it planned to issue a new Form I-9 in the 
context of a broader final rulemaking. While U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services (USCIS), which now maintains the Form I-9, still 
intends to pursue a broader rulemaking, given the long passage of time 
since the interim rule, allowing an outdated Form I-9 to remain in use 
has become untenable. Therefore, USCIS has amended the Form I-9 
document list to be consistent with the regulations. On November 7, 
2007, USCIS posted the amended Form I-9 on its Web site, at https://
www.uscis.gov. The amended Form I-9 has a revision date of June 5, 
2007, which is printed as ``(Rev. 06/05/07)N'' on the lower right 
corner of the form. As of November 7, 2007, this is the only valid 
version of the form.
    This Notice introduces the newly amended Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N 
and instructs employers on its use.

II. Changes to Form I-9

A. List A--Revised

    Because the 1997 interim rule was limited to Form I-9 List A 
documents, the amended Form I-9 reflects changes to the documents 
listed under List A only. List A documents are those that evidence both 
an individual's identity and employment eligibility. The amended Form 
I-9 no longer lists the following as List A documents: (1) The 
Certificate of United States Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561); (2) the 
Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570); (3) the Form I-
151, a long out-of-date version of the Alien Registration Receipt Card 
(``green card''); (4) the Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327); and 
(5) the Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form 1-571).
    The amended Form I-9 retains four types of acceptable List A 
documents: (1) The U.S. Passport (unexpired or expired); (2) the 
Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-
551); (3) an unexpired foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp; 
and (4) an unexpired Employment Authorization Document that contains a 
photograph (Form I-766, I-688, I-688A, I-688B). All of these acceptable 
List A documents were carried over from the previous Form I-9, with the 
exception of the Form I-766, which is a new addition to List A. The 
amended Form I-9 also modifies one acceptable List A document. The List 
A document entitled, ``unexpired foreign passport with an attached Form 
I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization,'' has been replaced 
by ``an unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired Arrival-Departure 
Record, Form I-94, bearing the same name as the passport and containing 
an endorsement of the alien's nonimmigrant status, if that status 
authorizes the alien to work for the employer.''
    USCIS also has amended the order and organization of List A to 
track the regulations more directly. For example, the various 
Employment Authorization Documents are listed together as one category, 
and the unexpired foreign passport with temporary I-551 stamp is a 
separate entry from the unexpired passport with Form I-94 indicating an 
employer-specific work-authorized nonimmigrant status.
    This updating of List A on the Form I-9 should help streamline the 
hiring process by providing employers with a better means of conforming 
their document acceptance practices with the requirements of the law. 
List A on the newly amended Form I-9 has been the regulatory List A 
since 1997, and, therefore, employers should not have been accepting 
documents not included in the regulatory list.
    Given the discrepancy between the Form I-9 and the regulations, 
however, the INS and, subsequently, the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) withheld enforcement of civil money penalties for violations 
associated with the changes made by the 1997 interim rule as a 
temporary transitional measure. 62 FR at 51002. With an amended Form I-
9 now available that includes the correct List A, that policy is no 
longer necessary. Therefore, DHS has determined that the non-
enforcement policy will cease as of December 26, 2007.

[[Page 65975]]

B. Other Changes

    The amended Form I-9 now instructs employees that providing their 
Social Security number in Section 1 of the form is voluntary, pursuant 
to section 7 of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a note). However, 
employees must provide their Social Security number in section 1 of the 
form if their employer participates in E-Verify (the employment 
eligibility verification program formerly known as Basic Pilot or EEV), 
as provided by section 403(a)(1)(A) of IIRIRA. Moreover, for employees 
who present their Social Security account number card to their employer 
as evidence that they are authorized to work in the United States, the 
employer must record the Social Security Account number in section 2 of 
the Form I-9.
    The amended Form I-9 also includes various nonsubstantive changes 
to the organization and content of the form instructions to be more 
consistent with standard USCIS branding practices, such as including a 
clarification that there is no filing fee associated with the Form I-9.

III. Use of the Amended Form I-9

    As of November 7, 2007, the Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N is the only 
version of the form that is valid for use. DHS recognizes that 
employers should be afforded a period of time to transition to the 
amended Form I-9. Therefore, DHS will not seek penalties against an 
employer for using a previous version of the Form I-9 on or before 
December 26, 2007. After December 26, 2007, employers who fail to use 
Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N may be subject to all applicable penalties 
under section 274A of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324a, as enforced by U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
    Note that employers do not need to complete the amended Form I-9 
for current employees for whom there is already a properly completed 
Form I-9 on file. Indeed, unnecessary verification may violate the 
INA's anti-discrimination provision, section 274B of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 
1324b, which is enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of 
Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices. 
However, employers must use Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N for any 
reverification of employment authorization conducted on or after 
December 26, 2007. Reverification is required when the Form I-9 
indicates that the employee's work authorization will expire. To 
reverify, employers must examine acceptable Form I-9 documents 
evidencing that the employee remains authorized to work. See 8 CFR 
274a.2(b)(1)(vii).

IV. Obtaining Forms I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N

    Employers may access the amended Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N online 
at https://www.uscis.gov. In addition, a newly revised ``Handbook for 
Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I-9, (M-274)'' is 
available online at https://www.uscis.gov. Because of its length, the 
revised M-274 will not be reprinted in the Federal Register. To order 
USCIS forms, call our toll-free number at 1-800-870-3676. The public 
can get USCIS forms and information on immigration laws, regulations 
and procedures by telephoning our National Customer Service Center at 
1-800-375-5283.
    A Spanish-language version of the amended Form I-9 is available at 
https://www.uscis.gov for use in Puerto Rico only. The Spanish-language 
Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N is valid as of November 7, 2007. This updated 
Spanish-language version of the Form I-9 supersedes all previous 
versions. Employers in Puerto Rico who continue to use previous 
editions of the Form I-9 in English or Spanish after December 26, 2007 
may be subject to fines and penalties.

    Dated: November 16, 2007.
Emilio T. Gonzalez,
Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

    Note: The Form I-9 is provided as an attachment to this notice.

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[FR Doc. 07-5790 Filed 11-20-07; 12:29 pm]
BILLING CODE 4410-10-C

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