Despite the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issuing a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, last year, many employers continue to use an outdated version of the form. The current version of Form I-9 can be found here.  

Employers must use the revised Form I-9 for all new hires, reverifications and rehires. The changes made to the I-9 form include the reduction of length to one page, more clear instructions, and guidance on acceptable receipts and the auto-extension of some documents, as found on the Lists of Acceptable Documents.

An employer that used an out-of-date Form I-9 after October 31, 2023, at the time of hire or reverification should correct the error.  If the Form I-9 documentation presented was acceptable under the Form I-9 rules that were current at the time of hire or reverification, the employer may correct the error by stapling the outdated completed form to a blank current version, and signing the current blank version noting why the current blank version is attached.  Any corrected or reverified forms should be retained.

Employers should be aware that the remote inspections of documents which was allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer permissible, except for E-Verify employers in good standing that follow the alternative verification procedure.  Accordingly, employers should be sure that all I-9s that were completed remotely are updated with a physical, in-person examination of documents.  Because the August 30, 2023, deadline for this update has passed, employers are advised to perform the update as soon as possible.

For more information regarding the new Form I-9, visit I‑9 Central. Employers can also join a free Form I‑9 webinar. A handbook for employers regarding Form-I-9 is also available.

The author would like to gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Joanne Warriner.

his blog is presented under protest by the law firm of Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP. It is essentially the random thoughts and opinions of someone who lives in the trenches of the war that often is employment law–he/she may well be a little shell-shocked. So if you are thinking “woohoo, I just landed some free legal advice that will fix all my problems!”, think again. This is commentary, people, a sketchy overview of some current legal issue with a dose of humor, but commentary nonetheless; as if Dennis Miller were a lawyer…and still mildly amusing. No legal advice here; you would have to pay real US currency for that (unless you are my mom, and even then there are limits). But feel free to contact us with your questions and comments—who knows, we might even answer you. And if you want to spread this stuff around, feel free to do so, but please keep it in its present form (‘cause you can’t mess with this kind of poetry). Big news: Copyright 2024. All rights reserved; yep, all of them.

If you have any questions about this article, contact the writer directly, assuming he or she was brave enough to attach their name to it. If you have any questions regarding this blog or your life in general, contact Kelly O. Scott, Esq., commander in chief of this blog and Head Honcho (official legal title) of ECJ’s Employment Law Department.