[Editor’s Note: today’s post is brought to you by guest blogger Katie Nokes Minervino, Associate Attorney in the Immigration Group at Pierce Atwood LLP. Katie assists employers and employees in employment authorization needs and provides clients with support and guidance on employment verification requirements, best practices, and audit response.]

A new version of Form I-9 was released by USCIS on March 8, 2013. Employers were required by law to begin using the new version of Form I-9 effective immediately, but USCIS gave employers a 60-day grace period to implement the new form into business practice. This 60-day grace period ended on May 7, 2013. Employers must use the new version of Form I-9 for any new hires or I-9 re-verifications completed on or after May 7, 2013.

Federal law requires that every employer hiring an individual for employment in the United States must complete a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. As previously reported, the new version of Form I-9 includes new fields for employee telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. The new version has also been reformatted and is now two pages in length. The new version of Form I-9 is available at uscis.gov.

Check out an essential, interactive introduction to the new Form I-9 that identifies the changes and provides instructions. Click on the arrows at the bottom of the presentation screen to advance.

For updates regarding employment authorization and immigration, you can also follow Katie Minervino on Twitter @kminervino as she closely tracks E-Verify and other immigration-related developments.

Disclaimer: The content of this post does not constitute direct legal advice and is designed for informational purposes only. Information provided through this website should never replace the need for involving informed counsel on your employment and immigration issues.

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