Smart Benefits: New Form I-9 - What Employers Need to Know

Monday, February 10, 2020

Rob Calise, GoLocalWorcester Business/Health Expert

Rob Calise

On January 31, 2020, a new Form I-9 was published, replacing the previous version 07/17/17 N that had expired at the end August. Form I-9 is used to verify the identity and employment authorization of those hired for employment. It must be properly completed for each person hired, including both citizens and noncitizens, and must be retained and stored for three years after the date of hire, or one year after employment is terminated, whichever comes later.

Here’s what employers need to know about the new version of the form.

Form Number: The new form has a 10/21/2019 version date. Users can locate the version date on the bottom of the form and instructions.
Effective Date: While USCIS is encouraging employers to use the new form immediately, they are allowed additional time to make changes to their business processes and may use the prior version until April 30, 2020. Beginning May 1, the new 10/21/2019 version must be used.
Form Changes: The new version contains minor changes to the previous form. Specifically, the Country of Issuance field in Section 1 and the Issuing Authority field (when selecting a foreign passport) in Section 2 have been modified to add Eswatini and Macedonia, North to reflect those countries’ recent name changes. The changes to these fields, however, can only be seen when completing the fillable Form I-9 on a computer.
Instruction Updates: The instructions for Form I-9 contain several changes, including an updated USCIS website, DHS Privacy Notice and process for requesting paper versions of Form I-9. In addition, they also clarify who can act as an authorized representative on behalf of an employer and acceptable documents for Form I-9.
Spanish Version: A revised Spanish version of Form I-9 with a 10/21/2019 version date is also available but is only for use in Puerto Rico.

A table with the changes to the form and instructions reflected in red can be found here.

Rob Calise is the Managing Director, Employee Benefits of The Hilb Group of New England, where he helps clients control the costs of employee benefits by focusing on consumer-driven strategies and on how to best utilize the tax savings tools the government provides. Rob serves as Chairman of the Board of United Benefit Advisors, and is a board member of the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of RI Broker Advisory Board, United HealthCare of New England Broker Advisory Board and Rhode Island Business Healthcare Advisors Council. He is also a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), American Health Insurance Association (AHIA) and the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC), as well as various human resource associations. Rob is a graduate of Bryant University with a BS in Finance