PART II – MORE PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE FORM I-9

As a reminder, the current Form I-9 is set to expire on October 31, 2022. The United States Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a notice on the I-9 Central web page that it has opened a second public comment period on the further revised changes. Comments on this draft version of the form will be accepted until August 8, 2022. To submit a comment, please visit the Federal Register notice (87 FR 40857).

Cadient will continue to monitor for updates. Once the final version has been published, Cadient will add the new version of the form to its baseline library and make updates to the Onboarding solution.

Now what’s new as of July 2022?

The most recently proposed Form I-9 revisions are primarily minor formatting adjustments.

• The following fields have been restored as separate fields within Section 1:
  • Apartment Number, USICS/A-number, and I-94 Number.
• The height of text boxes in Section 2 has been increased.
• List A document section has been restored for certain foreign national employees.
• Preparer/Translator section has been moved and labelled as “Supplement A.”
• Reverification and Rehire section is now considered “Supplement B.”
• List of Acceptable Documents contains a few minor edits to notify employers of guidance and resources.

The USCIS has also updated the M-274 Handbook for Employers with guidance for completing the I-9 to add a new section for “Other Temporary Workers,” which is relevant for employees with E and L non-immigrant status.

What were the original changes back in March 2022?

The previously proposed updates were intended to simplify the process and provide more clarification.

• Sections 1 and 2 will be reduced to a single page instead of two separate pages.
• Section 3 (Rehire & Reverification) will be a separate stand-alone section accessible only if needed.
• Instructions to be reduced from 15 to 7 pages and users will be directed to the M-274 Handbook for Employers with guidance for completing the Form I-9 and I-9 Central website to address further questions.
• List of Acceptable Documents will include a web link to the regulations for List C documents.
• Additional emphasis on what constitutes discrimination with respect to the I-9.
• Fields that are not applicable may be left blank (“N/A” is not required).

More details about the originally proposed form changes in March 2022 are available in this article on our website.

Refresher on the Form I-9 Process Changes

The DHS also made some post-pandemic changes to the I-9 process for employers:

• Expired documents are no longer acceptable for identity and work eligibility authorization as of May 1, 2022.
• If expired documents were presented during the period of May 2, 2020 – April 30, 2022, employers must update the Form I-9 by July 31, 2022, and inspect the current document or another document from the same list. (This reverification process is only required if the employee is still working for the employer.)
• Remote inspection of documents for employees who don’t report to a physical office was further extended until October 31, 2022.
• As a reminder, remote verification is only allowed for remote workers. Employers must review I-9 documents in person for those who work on-site.

Resources

For more information, refer to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) I-9 Central webpage.

The latest proposed draft version of the new Form I-9 is located here as a reference, and comments may be submitted on the U.S Government’s Federal Register website.

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