Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification

All U.S. employers are responsible to verify that new hires, including those who are non-citizens, are eligible for employment in the U.S. by the completion and retention of Form I-9. Employers must use Form I-9 to record their review of acceptable employment eligibility and identity documents presented by the employee. Changes have been made to the list of the documents that are acceptable for use as verification of eligibility for employment.

Effective Date: Originally employers were required to begin using the revised Form I-9 on February 9, 2009. However in a notice published late on January 30th, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) changed the effective date to April 3, 2009. All employers are required to use the revised Form I-9 for new employees hired on or after April 3, 2009, but the current version of the Form I-9, dated June 5, 2007, must be used until that date.

Changes: The following changes have been made to the List of Acceptable Documents and the Form I-9 instructions:

Five documents have been removed from List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:
Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561)
Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)
Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151)
Unexpired Reentry Permit (FormI-327)
Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)

An unexpired Employment Authorization Document (I-766) has been added to List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:

All Employment Authorization Documents with photographs (Forms I-688, I-688A, I-688B and I-766) have been consolidated as one item on List A:

The new Passport Card is also on List A of the List of Acceptable Documents.

The instructions for Section 1 of the Form I-9 now indicate that the employee is not obliged to provide his or her Social Security number in Section 1, unless he or she is employed by an employer who participates in E-Verify. The instructions for completing Form I-9 can be found online at (www.uscis.gov/i-9)

Form I-9 Retention: Form I-9 must be kept by the employer for either (i) three years after the date of hire or (ii) one year after employment is terminated, whichever is later. Form I-9 must be available for inspection by authorized U.S. Government officials (e.g., Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, Office of Special Counsel).

Employers may now sign and retain Forms I-9 electronically using E-Verify. E-Verify (formerly known as the Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility Verification Program) is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. E-Verify is free and voluntary and is the best means available for determining employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security Numbers.

Additional information about E-Verify can be found online (www.uscis.gov/e-verify) or by calling toll free (888-464-4218).

Please contact Michael F. Yates & Company Inc. for additional details. CONTACT MFYCO