Christine Sensenig

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The New Form I-9 is here with an expiration date of July 31, 2026

If you’re a Steve Martin fan, you’ll recognize this paraphrase from one of his early movies, “The new Form I-9 is here!  The new Form I-9 is here!”.  As a regular reader of our educational updates, you will recall that we recently heralded the unveiling of an “alternative document examination procedure” – 100% remote employment eligibility verification if you are an E-Verify user – and, along with it, a revised Form I-9.  Well, the wait is over, and we are happy to present to you, hot off the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) presses, 2023’s new and (allegedly) improved Form I-9: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9.pdf.

Compared to most administrative updates to government forms, this is actually a pretty major overhaul.  It is no exaggeration to state that often these “updates” are literally just the same form, reproduced word-for-word, but with an updated date in the corner, with the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) disposition forms being the worst offenders.  But in this case, USCIS has really outdone itself.  Getting the instructions down from fifteen (15) pages to just eight (8) is a feat in and of itself, but they didn’t stop there.  Below is a list of the key changes employers should be aware of in adopting the new Form I-9:

  • Sections 1 and 2 have been condensed into one single-sided page;

  • Mobile accessibility, including smartphones and tablets, has been substantially improved;

  • The Preparer/Translator Certification has been moved to a separate, standalone supplement to be used only when applicable rather than included in every Form;

  • The Reverification and Rehire has also been moved to a separate, standalone supplement, to be used only when applicable rather than included in every Form;

  • Amends the Lists of Acceptable Documents to include certain permissible receipts and to provide links to information regarding automatic extensions of employment eligibility and authorization documentation; and

  • Includes a box to indicate when any given Form was completed using remote verification rather than in-person inspection.

The new Form is available as of today.  It is not technically required until November 1, 2023, when the 2019 Forms officially expire.  But why wait?  As noted above, this is actually a substantial overhaul of the old Form, so we strongly advise you to take the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the new Forms before they become mandatory on November 1st.  

A gentle reminder, to utilize the new permanent remote inspection procedure, employers must meet all of the following criteria, most of which are already mandated by Florida’s recent E-Verification standards:

  • Be enrolled in E-Verify;

  • Examine and retain copies of all documents;

  • Conduct a live video interaction with the employee; and

  • Create an E-Verify case if the employee is a new hire.

For employees who were verified under the relaxed, COVID-era remote verification standards, employers will need to re-certify their employment eligibility using the new Form I-9 no later than August 30, 2023.  Until very recently, USCIS maintained that it was going to require physical, in-person inspections for all such employees, but these new remote verification procedures will allow for fully remote inspections of all employees moving forward for E-Verify users, including employees who require re-certification for any reason, which is welcome news for remote workers and employers alike.

As always, if you have any follow-up questions whatsoever, or if you need assistance with employment eligibility verification, we are just a phone call away.

Christine Sensenig