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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that the new Form I-9 is coming and will be available by November 22, 2016. They have advised that employers can continue to use the current form until January 21, 2017. After that date, the current form will no longer be valid and all employers must be using the new form. The new form will expire on August 31, 2019.
The new form will include a “smart” version of the form that can be completed online. Forms will not be able to be sumbitted online, however – they must still be printed and signed and sent to the USCIS, and then filed appropriately. But the electronic form will be more user-friendly with features like drop-down menus to assist with completion of the form, and validation safeguards to ensure the correct number of digits are being used for things like Social Security numbers and expiration dates.
The changes to the form are also expected to aid employers in eliminating costly errors, the penalties for which are increasing. Form I-9 violations are now assessed at $2,156 for the first offense, and increase dramatically for second and third offenses.
Employers are advised to begin training HR and other staff that are responsible for Form I-9 completion when the new form is available, and certainly well before the January 21 deadline.
