Introduction of a New Version of Employment Eligibility Verification Form, 5683-5684 [2020-01821]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 21 (Friday, January 31, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5683-5684]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01821]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[CIS No. 2532-13; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2006-0068]


Introduction of a New Version of Employment Eligibility 
Verification Form

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is 
announcing a new version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility 
Verification. Employers must use Form I-9 to verify the identity and 
employment authorization of their employees. USCIS made minor changes 
to the form and its instructions. This Notice contains the dates of 
both the prior version and the new version of Form I-9 that employers 
may use, as well as the date when the prior version will become 
obsolete.

DATES: Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, with a version 
date of ``(Rev. 10/21/2019)'' is available for use beginning January 
31, 2020. The prior version of Form I-9 (Rev. 07/17/2017 N) will be 
obsolete effective April 30, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Oscar Lujan, Associate Chief, Policy, 
Programs, and Guidance, Verification Division, Immigration Records and 
Identity Services, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security, 131 M Street NE, Suite 200, Mail Stop 
2600, Washington DC 20529. Employers can contact the Form I-9 Contact 
Center at 888-464-

[[Page 5684]]

4218 (TTY: 877-875-6028) and employees can call 888-897-7781 (TTY: 877-
875-6028) for more information. The public can also email the Form I-9 
Contact Center at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Employers and certain agricultural recruiters and referrers for a 
fee (referred to collectively as employers in this notice) must verify 
the identity and employment authorization of each individual they hire 
for employment in the United States on Form I-9, Employment Eligibility 
Verification.
    Form I-9 contains three sections. Section 1 of the form collects, 
at the time of hire, identifying information about the employee (and 
preparer or translator if used), and requires the employee to attest to 
whether he or she is a U.S. citizen, noncitizen national, lawful 
permanent resident, or alien authorized to work in the United States.
    Section 2 of the form collects, within 3 days of the employee's 
hire, identifying information about the employer and information 
regarding the employee's identity and employment authorization. The 
employee must present original documentation evidencing his or her 
identity and employment authorization, which the employer must review.
    Section 3 of the form is primarily used to verify the continued 
employment authorization of the employee. This section, if applicable, 
is completed at the time that the employee's employment authorization 
and/or employment authorization documentation recorded in either 
Section 1 or Section 2 of the form expires. This section may also be 
used if the employee is rehired within 3 years of the date of the 
initial completion of the form and to document a name change if Section 
3 is otherwise completed.
    Employers must maintain Forms I-9 for as long as an individual 
works for the employer and for the required retention period after the 
termination of an individual's employment (either 3 years after the 
date of hire or 1 year after the date employment ended, whichever is 
later). Also, employers must make their employees' Forms I-9 available 
for inspection upon request by officers of the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS), the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) in the 
Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, and the Department of 
Labor. An employer's failure to ensure proper completion and retention 
of Forms I-9 may subject the employer to civil money penalties, and, in 
some cases, criminal penalties.
    On March 1, 2019, USCIS published a 60-day information collection 
notice in the Federal Register at 84 FR 7101 inviting the public to 
comment on a proposed extension without change of the Form I-9 and 
renewal request of the information collection to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995. USCIS received and responded to 21 comments on the 60-day 
notice. On June 5, 2019, USCIS published a second notice at 84 FR 26140 
inviting the public to comment on the proposed extension without change 
of the Form I-9 for a 30-day period. USCIS included proposed non-
substantive updates in the online docket for the information 
collection. USCIS determined that these non-substantive updates do not 
change the affected population nor the time or cost burden imposed on 
the respondents, and therefore qualified as an extension without 
change. On October 21, 2019, OMB approved a three-year extension 
without change of the updated Form I-9. See OMB No. 1615-0047 at 
www.reginfo.gov.

II. Changes to Form I-9

    In the newly updated Form I-9, USCIS added Eswatini and North 
Macedonia to the Country of Issuance field in Section 1 and the foreign 
passport issuing authority field in Section 2 per those countries' 
recent name changes. These changes are only visible when completing the 
fillable Form I-9 on a computer.
    USCIS updated the following in the form instructions:

 Clarified who can act as an authorized representative on 
behalf of an employer
 Updated USCIS website addresses
 Provided acceptable document clarifications
 Updated the process for requesting the paper Form I-9
 Updated the DHS Privacy Notice

III. Use of the Updated Form I-9

    In this Notice, USCIS is announcing that as of January 31, 2020, 
employers should begin using Form I-9 with a version date of ``(Rev. 
10/21/2019)'' to comply with their employment eligibility verification 
responsibilities. The version date is located in the bottom corner of 
the form.
    Employers may continue using the prior version of Form I-9 (Rev. 
07/17/2017 N) until April 30, 2020. USCIS is allowing employers this 
additional time to make necessary updates and adjust their business 
processes. After April 30, 2020, however, the prior version of Form I-9 
will no longer be valid for use and will be obsolete. The public can 
download the new Form I-9 from www.uscis.gov/i-9. After April 30, 2020, 
employers who fail to use Form I-9 (Rev. 10/21/2019) 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).
    Employers do not need to complete the new Form I-9 (Rev. 10/21/
2019) for current employees who already have a properly completed Form 
I-9 on file, unless reverification applies. 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 Immigrant and 
Employee Rights Section (IER) in the Department of Justice's Civil 
Rights Division.

IV. Obtaining Forms I-9 (Rev. 10/21/2019)

    Employers may download the new Form I-9 (Rev. 10/21/2019) from the 
USCIS website at www.uscis.gov/i-9. Employers can order the paper Form 
I-9 at www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-by-mail. For more information, the 
public can contact the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 or visit 
USCIS' I-9 Central web page at www.uscis.gov/i-9central.
    A Spanish-language version of the new Form I-9 is also available at 
www.uscis.gov/i-9 for use in Puerto Rico only.

Mark R. Koumans,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 2020-01821 Filed 1-30-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9111-97-P