New I-9 form for 2020

January 31, 2020

On January 31st, 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released the newest I-9 form which employers must have all new employees complete on or before their first day of work.  The I-9 form is a critical federal form that establishes a new employee’s identity and authorization to work in the U.S.  Although the Office of Management and Budget approved the new form on October 21st, 2019, USCIS only just published the form for employers to use.  Employers should immediately start using the newest I-9 form as of January 31st, 2020. 

Changes to the new I-9 are minor, but include the following:

  • In the fillable PDF version of the new I-9 form, when selecting countries in the Country of Issuance field in Section 1 and the Issuing Authority field (when selecting a foreign passport) in Section 2, Eswatini and Macedonia, North were updated per those countries’ recent name changes.
  • On the instructional pages of the I-9, the following items were updated:
    • Clarification was added on who can act as an authorized representative on behalf of the employer.
    • USCIS’s website address was updated.
    • Clarifications on acceptable I-9 documents were added.
    • The process for requesting paper I-9 forms was updated.
    • The DHS Privacy Notice was updated.
  • A revised Spanish version of the I-9 form (for use in Puerto Rico only) was added.

As of January 31st, 2020, all UAP clients should begin using the newest version of the I-9 form.  The easiest way to distinguish the new form from the old one is noting the revision date of 10/21/2019 in the bottom left corner of the form and the new expiration date of 10/31/2022 in the top right corner.  UAP will be reaching out to all clients to provide copies of this new form.  Because USCIS will soon be unable to accept the old I-9 form, with the revision date of 7/17/17, please remove the old I-9 form from your new hire packets and replace it with the newest version.

It is UAP’s goal to keep our clients in compliance with all federal, state, and local laws.  To that end, be sure to keep visiting UAP News for all the latest updates and trends in employment law for your business.