What’s New with the I9 Form?

Posted April 28, 2013

The Form I-9 verifies the eligibility of employees to work in the United States. In March 2013, the US Citizen and Immigration Service released a brand new I-9 with some rather significant changes. These updates will impact hiring and onboarding processes for every company throughout the country. What do these changes look like, how will they affect your business and how can you manage the new processes in your office?

• Fields for new data. These new fields include a section for foreign passport information as well as the employees’ phone number and email address. Hiring managers and human resources employees will need to be trained on these new fields, how to complete them, and how to ensure that the employee has complied fully with the process.
• More instructions. The new form provides six new pages of document instructions. For organizations that will still be completing these forms manually, these instructions are very important and should be reviewed frequently. Because of these broad changes to the I-9 process, many companies are choosing to transition to an electronic processing system. Several services exist which can assist you with the process and procedures to maintain the correct level of legal compliance.
• New two-page layout. Previously, the I-9 form featured one page which required action and signatures with the back of the form listing the accepted forms of ID’s.  This form was somewhat confusing where common mistakes could be made.  With the addition of new fields and instructions, the new I9 document has been increased to two pages. The employee fills out Page One and the hiring manager fills out Page Two thus hopefully eliminating mistakes.
• New E-Verify rules. On the first of January of this year, rules surrounding the E-Verify program changed for several states including North Carolina and Tennessee. Noncompliance will result in fines for the business who fails to process the E-Verify correctly. The new Form I-9, if managed properly, can assist in your company’s E-Verify program.
• Consider working with a staffing service. Working with a staffing agency in your area means that the initial hiring paperwork is handled by the service directly. Not only are they responsible for the documentation but they are also up-to-date with the government requirements in your state. You will have a peace of mind that your employees have been verified as eligible to work in the United States before they begin employment with your company.

Do you want to partner with a staffing company who understands your specific needs? Contact Ambassador Personnel to see how we can help you with your I-9 process.