Today the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued its Final Rule on the Employment Eligibility Verification process.  That’s the fancy name for the Form I-9, which all employers must complete for all newly hired employees.  The Final Rule becomes effective May 16, 2011.

According to the USCIS press release, the main changes made by the interim rule include:  “prohibiting employers from accepting expired doucments; revising the list of acceptable documents by removing outdated documents and making technical amendments; and adding documentations applicable to certain citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.”

As you all know, the list of acceptable documents is divided into three sections:

  • List A—documents that establish both identity and employment authorization (ex. U.S. passport, Permanent Resident Card)
  • List B—documents that establish only identity (ex. driver’s license, ID card)
  • List C—documents that establish only employment authorization (ex. birth certificate, social security card)

Review the list of acceptable documents and make sure you aren’t accepting any of the documents that were removed from the list.   You may continue to use the current version of the Form I-9 (rev. 08/07/09) or the previous version (rev. 02/02/09).

If you have questions, check out the Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I-9.  We’ve used it in the past and found it to be very helpful.