Introduction of a New Version of Employment Eligibility Verification Form, 47891-47892 [2023-15667]

Agencies

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

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47891-47892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15667]


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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 (USCIS), Department 
of Homeland Security (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 significant 
changes to the form and its instructions, including a checkbox to 
indicate that an employee's Form I-9 documentation was examined using a 
DHS-authorized alternative procedure. 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. 08/01/23)'' is available for use beginning August 1, 
2023. The prior version of Form I-9 (Rev. 10/21/19) continues to be 
effective through October 31, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Ragan Henry, Branch Chief, 
Employment Eligibility, Verification Division, Immigration Records and 
Identity Services, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security, 5900 Capital Gateway Dr., Camp 
Springs, MD 20746, telephone number (240) 721-3000 (This is not a toll-
free number. Comments are not accepted via telephone message). 
Employers can contact the Form I-9 Contact Center at 888-464-4218 (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.
    The new Form I-9 contains two sections and two supplements:
    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 the employee is a U.S. 
citizen, noncitizen national, lawful permanent resident, or noncitizen 
authorized to work in the United States.
    Section 2 of the form collects, within three 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 the employee's 
identity and employment authorization, which the employer must review.
    Supplement A, Preparer and/or Translator Certification for Section 
1, is completed when employees have preparers and/or translators assist 
them in completing Section 1 of Form I-9.
    Supplement B, Reverification and Rehire (formerly Section 3), is 
primarily used to verify the continued employment authorization of the 
employee. This Supplement is completed prior to the date that the 
employee's employment authorization and/or employment authorization 
documentation recorded in either Section 1 or Section 2 of the form 
expires, if applicable. This Supplement may also be used if the 
employee is rehired within 3 years of the date of the initial 
completion of the form and to record a name change.
    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 30, 2022, USCIS published a 60-day information collection 
notice in the Federal Register at 87 FR 18377 inviting the public to 
comment on a proposed revision 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 184 comments on the 60-day notice. On July 8, 2022, USCIS 
published a second notice at 87 FR 40857 inviting the public to comment 
on the proposed revision of the Form I-9 for a 30-day period. USCIS 
received and responded to 72 comments on the 30-day notice. On January 
10, 2023, OMB approved a three-year extension without change of the 
updated Form I-9. See OMB No. 1615-0047 at www.reginfo.gov.
    Concurrent with this process, DHS issued a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM), Optional Alternatives to the Physical Document 
Examination Associated with Employment Eligibility Verification (Form 
I-9), seeking

[[Page 47892]]

comment on additional potential changes to the Form I-9. See 87 FR 
50786, 50793 (Aug. 18, 2022). Specifically, DHS proposed to create a 
framework under which the Secretary of Homeland Security may, as an 
optional alternative to the regulatory in-person physical document 
examination method that employers have used to examine employees' Form 
I-9 documents, authorize alternative document examination procedures, 
such as for remote document examination. As part of this proposal, DHS 
proposed to add a checkbox to the Form I-9, which an employer would use 
to indicate their use of an alternative document examination procedure. 
In this issue of the Federal Register, DHS published a final rule on 
this topic as well as an accompanying document authorizing an 
alternative procedure for document examination. Consistent with the 
final rule, the newly updated Form I-9 contains such a checkbox.

II. Changes to Form I-9

    The newly updated Form I-9 contains myriad revisions to the form 
and its instructions to streamline these materials and reduce employer 
and employee burden associated with the form.
    USCIS made the following updates to the Form I-9:
     Reduced Sections 1 and 2 to a single-sided sheet. No 
previous fields were removed. Rather, multiple fields were merged into 
fewer fields when possible.
     Moved the Section 1 Preparer/Translator Certification area 
to a separate, standalone supplement (Supplement A) that employers can 
provide to employees when necessary. Employers may attach additional 
supplement sheets as needed.
     Moved the Section 3 Reverification and Rehire area to a 
separate, standalone supplement (Supplement B) that employers can print 
if or when rehire occurs or reverification is required. Employers may 
attach additional supplement sheets as necessary.
     Removed use of ``alien authorized to work'' in Section 1 
and replaced it with ``noncitizen authorized to work'' as well as 
clarified the difference between ``noncitizen national'' and 
``noncitizen authorized to work.''
     Ensured the form can be filled out on tablets and mobile 
devices.
     Removed certain features to ensure the form can be 
downloaded easily. This also removes the requirement to enter N/A in 
certain fields.
     Updated the notice at the top of the Form I-9 that 
explains how to avoid discrimination in the Form I-9 process.
     Revised the Lists of Acceptable Documents page to include 
some acceptable receipts as well as guidance and links to information 
on automatic extensions of employment authorization documentation.
     Added a box that eligible employers must check if the 
employee's Form I-9 documentation was examined under a DHS-authorized 
alternative procedure rather than via physical examination.
    USCIS updated the following in the Form I-9 instructions:
     Reduced length of instructions from 15 pages to 8 pages.
     Added definitions of key actors in the Form I-9 process.
     Streamlined the steps each actor takes to complete their 
section of the form.
     Added instructions for use of the new checkbox for 
employers who choose to examine Form I-9 documentation under an 
alternative procedure.
     Removed the abbreviations charts and relocated them to the 
M-274, Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9.

III. Use of the Updated Form I-9

    In this Notice, USCIS is announcing that as of August 1, 2023, 
employers should begin using Form I-9 with a version date of ``(Rev. 
08/01/23)'' 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. 
10/21/19) through October 31, 2023. USCIS is allowing employers this 
additional time to make necessary updates and adjust their business 
processes. After October 31, 2023, the prior version of Form I-9 will 
be obsolete and no longer valid for use. The public can download the 
current Form I-9 from www.uscis.gov/i-9. Beginning November 1, 2023, 
employers who fail to use Form I-9 (Rev. 08/01/23) may be subject to 
all applicable penalties under section 274A of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (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. 08/01/23) 
for current employees who already have a properly completed Form I-9 on 
file, unless reverification applies after October 31, 2023. Unnecessary 
verification may violate the INA's anti-discrimination provision, 
section 274B of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324b, which is enforced by IER.

IV. Obtaining Form I-9 (Rev. 08/01/2023)

    An exemplar of the revised Form I-9 can be viewed at 
www.regulations.gov under the docket for this notice [CIS No. 2532-13; 
DHS Docket No. USCIS-2006-0068]. Starting on August 1, 2023, employers 
may download the new Form I-9 (Rev. 08/01/23) 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.

Ur M. Jaddou,
Director, USCIS.
[FR Doc. 2023-15667 Filed 7-21-23; 8:45 am]
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