USCIS (U.S. Customs and Immigration Service)
Order A Free Employers Handbook
USCIS printed a limited number of the latest M-274 (Rev. 06/01/11), Handbook for Employers: Instructions for Completing Form I-9 . Order your free copy today! Visit the Forms by Mail page on www.USCIS.gov or call the USCIS Forms Request Line at 1-800-870-3676.
Puerto Rican Birth Certificates and I-9 compliance. On July 1, 2010, the Vital Statistics Office of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico began issuing new, more secure certified copies of birth certificates to U.S. citizens born in Puerto Rico because of a new Puerto Rico birth certificate law. After Sept. 30, 2010, all certified copies of birth certificates issued prior to July 1, 2010, will become invalid. This new law does not affect the U.S. citizenship status of individuals born in Puerto Rico. It only affects the validity of certified copies of Puerto Rico birth certificates.”
The bottom line for employers is that if you accept a Puerto Rican birth certificate (List C on the I-9 form) “Beginning Oct. 1, 2010, only certified copies of Puerto Rico birth certificates issued on or after July 1, 2010, are acceptable for Form I-9 purposes.” Remember this only applies to new hires. ALSO REMEMBER--- DO NOT TELL ANYONE WHAT DOCUMENT THEY MUST GIVE YOU--- ONLY THAT AN INVALID DOCUMENT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AND THEY MUST GIVE YOU ANOTHER ACCPTABLE DOCUMENT— tell them why the document is not acceptable but do not steer them to any particular document--- show them the list and let them choose!
Click here for USCIS Website for more information.
(Source: National Council of Agricultural Employers)
Is Your Company Next? 10 Tips to Help Prepare for an ICE I-9 Audit
By Kim Thompson
In June, the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a strategic plan for work site enforcement through fiscal year 2014. One of the key initiatives of the plan is enforcement of U.S. immigration-related employment laws, in particular pursuing employers who knowingly violate the laws.
ICE intends to create a "culture of compliance" through education, I-9 audits and investigations, and criminal and civil sanctions. Certain industries, such as agriculture, construction, hospitality, and food processing, can expect to be targeted for these actions, although no company will be immune.
Here are 10 tips to help protect your company and limit exposure for I-9 violations:
- Keep I-9 forms in a separate binder for current employees and another for terminated employees. Do not keep I-9 forms in employee personnel files.
- Print a list of all current employees, including name and date of hire.
- Ensure that you are using the correct version of the I-9 form.
- When completing the I-9 form for a new hire, do not accept any document with an expiration date that has expired.
- Do not re-verify U.S. passports or passport cards, Permanent Resident or Resident Alien Cards, or List B Identity documents.
- Ensure that you re-verify expiring work authorization documents before they expire and do not allow an employee to continue to work after his or her work authorization document expires.
- Conduct a self-audit of your I-9 forms to make sure they are correctly completed.
- Do not engage in discrimination or document abuse when completing the I-9 form process.
- If the document(s) presented by the employee is on the List of Acceptable Documents, reasonably appears to be genuine and relates to the person presenting it, you may accept that document to complete Section 2 of the I-9 form.
- Know your rights! If ICE appears to review your I-9 forms and conduct an audit, insist on a written Notice of Inspection and your right to have three business days before you turn over your original I-9 forms.
Make sure that the individuals in your company who complete the I-9 process are properly trained and that you regularly audit I-9 compliance. Create your own culture of compliance and be ready to respond to an ICE audit with confidence.
(Reprinted with author's permission, all rights reserved, Copyright 2007-2010 Fisher & Phillips LLP)
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USCIS New Form I-9 "Thursday Rule"
When must you fill our I-9 forms for new hires? By Thursday for a Monday hire (third work-day, or four day window) according to new USCIS’s ‘quiet’ announcement! However; it does not appear that ICE was consulted in this decision and there was initial confusion as to whether enforcement would honor the ‘third workday’ ruling! The controversy centers around the timeframe for opening an e-verify case, and USCIS and ICE now seem to agree that you have this 4 day window to complete both E-Verify and section 2 of the I-9--- but--- the lawyer who wrote this informative article suggests not changing your policy without consulting your attorney. Bottom-line--- it remains the best practice to complete the I-9 form, in its entirety, on the first work-day. “--- companies cannot afford this type of surprise interpretation of long standing regulatory authority. Instead, employers require guidance, consistency, and clarity from the federal government.” See: http://www.ilw.com/articles/2010,0714-lurie.shtm (Source: National Council for Agricultural Employers.)
USCIS Issues Revised Employment Authorization Document
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it has revised the Employment Authorization Document (EAD), or Form I-766, to incorporate the addition of a machine-readable zone on the back of the card.
This update to the EAD is part of USCIS's ongoing efforts to deter immigration fraud. Starting May 11, USCIS began issuing the revised EAD cards. The machine-readable zone is compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization standards. USCIS also removed the two-dimensional bar code on the backside of the card and moved the informational box of text to just beneath the magnetic stripe on the card. The revised card retains all of its existing security features.
Old Card Design:
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New Card Design: |
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These revisions are the result of extensive collaboration among Department of Homeland Security components, particularly U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and USCIS. For more information on employment authorization, travel documents and other immigration benefits, visit www.uscis.gov or call USCIS¿s National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.
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Electronic Filing and Storage Form I-9
On July 22, 2010 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) published a final rule providing that employers and recruiters or referrers for a fee, who are obligated to retain the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, may sign this form electronically and retain it in an electronic format. This final rule amends and updates an interim rule published on June 15, 2006.
The rule makes it clear that employers may use paper, or electronic systems, or a combination. Thus, a company that is transitioning to electronic filing, may choose to maintain its paper I-9 records for employees already processed while initiating electronic filing prospectively, or in the alternative, to scan and incorporate previously executed paper I-9 forms into its new electronic system.
Employers may also change their electronic systems as technology evolves and improves, as long as the systems meet the performance requirements of the regulations. The final regulation clarifies that the electronic system must be so constructed as to retain an audit trail, not for each time a Form I-9 is electronically viewed, but rather, only for when the Form I-9 is created, completed, updated, modified, altered, or corrected. The audit trail must be able to establish the identity of the individual who accessed the electronic record and the particular action taken.
The rule also provides that the I-9 maintenance systems must have the capability to issue a receipt or confirmation of a Form I-9 transaction, but that the employer must provide that receipt or confirmation to the employee only if it is specifically requested by the employee. The regulation also confirms that there is no obligation to issue such receipt or confirmation within the three day deadline for executing an I-9 form, but rather within a reasonable period of time.
ICE opined that it would be permissible for an employer to store the I-9s and E-Verification documentation in either a separate I-9 file, or as part of the employee’s other employment records. In advising our clients, we have observed that, given how I-9 forms are subject to separate audit, in many instances, it is not advisable to comingle or store I-9 records together with general employment records. This is a determination that has to be carefully made by each employer.
ICE also clarified that only the pages on which the employer and employee enter data must be maintained. Other pages of the current form, which include instructions and list of acceptable documents, need not be maintained.
We have always recommended and continue to recommend to our employers, that one copy of the instruction sheet, including the list of acceptable documents, for each version of the I-9 form that has been used historically, be preserved and maintained as a reference for each relevant eligibility period, so that the employer can clearly demonstrate that it has been in compliance with the document requirements applicable at that particular point in time.
As to the record of signatures, the regulation provides that the “paper” I-9 with original handprint signatures, electronic with acceptable electronic signatures, or original paper scanned into an electronic format, or a combination of paper and electronic formats are all acceptable.
See also: -USCIS Release Final Rule on Form I-9 Electronic Storage & Signatures (ILW.com)
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