U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has just released a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification and Lists of Acceptable Documents, and a revised Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing Form I-9.  USCIS encourages immediate use of the new form, but indicates that its use will not be required until notice is published in the Federal Register. After the effective date, employers may incur fines and penalties for failing to use the new Form I-9.  Key revisions to the form include:

• the removal from List A Documents that Establish Both Identity and Employment Eligibility, of:

Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561)
Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)
Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-151)
Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327)
Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)

• the inclusion in List A of:

All the Employment Authorization Documents with photographs in circulation (Forms I-688, I-688A, I-688B, I-766)

The simplified List A now includes the following:

• U.S. passport (expired or unexpired)
• Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card
• Unexpired Foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp
• Unexpired Employment Authorization Document with photograph
• Unexpired foreign passport with unexpired Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94), if the immigration status authorizes work

Employers only need to complete the new Form I-9 for new employees (it should be completed exactly the same way as the old one).  However, employers must use the new Form I-9 when their existing employees require re-verification. The new form is available at  http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-9.pdf.  The new Handbook for Employers is available at  http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/m-274.pdf.

Given the increased government enforcement of immigration laws in the workplace, employers should review their current I-9 compliance procedures to avoid civil or criminal sanctions.  Conducting regular in-house audits of Forms I-9 is a good way to begin.