On August 1, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) published a revised version of the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification. According to the USCIS, the new Form I-9 is designed to be more user friendly. Some of the improvements include shortening the Form I-9 to a single page, ensuring the Form I-9 can be filled out on tablets or mobile devices, and improving the guidance to the Lists of Acceptable Documents. 

Employers may now start using the new Form I-9 but may continue to use the old version through October 31, 2023. Importantly, employers will be required to only use the new Form I-9 starting on November 1, 2023.

The new Form I-9 is available here. Instructions for completing the Form I-9 may be found here.

Also on August 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) established and began implementing an optional remote procedure to allow employers meeting certain requirements to be able to remotely examine their employees’ identity and employment authorization documents, instead of the current in-person requirement, for the first time.

Form I-9 regulations require employers to physically examine employee identification and employment verification documentation within three days of employment to make sure that the documents appear genuine and relate to the employee presenting them. To be eligible for the optional alternative remote employment verification procedure, employers must be enrolled in E-Verify and remain in good standing and compliance with all requirements of the E-Verify program.

Instructions for the optional alternative remote employment verification procedure, and participation requirements, may be found here. Additional information on the new Form I-9 and E-Verify enrollment may be found here.

If you have any questions regarding the new Form I-9 or employee verification requirements, please do not hesitate to call or email either Philip Siegel or Ben Lowenthal. Now may also be a good time for your company to conduct an audit of its current Form I-9s. You can e-mail Philip by clicking here, and you can e-mail Ben by clicking here. You can also reach Philip directly at (404) 469-9197, and you can reach Ben directly at (404) 469-9177.