Current Form I-9 Valid Until Jan. 2017

New Version Available Nov. 22, 2016

The latest-and-greatest (or at least the newest) version of the venerable Form I-9 will be made available by Nov. 22, 2016, according to an announcement made by U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS).  Employers may continue using the current form of the I-9 bearing the 03/08/2013 revision date until Jan. 21, 2017.  After January 21, all previous versions of the Form I-9 will be invalid for verifying the identity and employment eligibility of newly-hired employees.  Forms you may have on file for existing employees will continue to be valid until they need replacement for some reason, like reverification of a returning employee.

The White House Office of Management and Budget approved the lastest revisions to the Form I-9 on Aug. 25, 2016, allowing USCIS to release the newest version of the Form I-9.  The new form will have an expiration date of Aug. 31, 2019.

Employers using the fillable .pdf format for the new Form I-9 will be able to access a number of convenience features that can ease the process of gathering the neccessary information:

• Validation features on some of the fields to make sure certain numbers are entered correctly; for example, the form will validate that the correct number of digits are entered for a Social Security Form, or for an expiration date for an identity document;
• Drop-down lists and calendars;
• Embedded instructions for completion of each field which will appear as you move your cursor over the Form;
• Buttons that will allow the user to instantly access instructions electronically, print the Form, or clear the Form to start over;
• Additional spaces to enter required information for multiple preparers and translators;
• A new check box to indicate that no preparer was used, if this is the case;
• Workers will be required to provide only other last names used in Section 1 (rather than all other names used) to avoid possible discrimination and protect the privacy of transgender and other individuals who have changed their first names;
• Removal of the requirement for immigrants authorized to work to provid both their Form I-94 and their foreign passport information, eliminating a needless redundancy;
• A new "citizenship/Immigration Status" field at the top of Section 2; and,
• Separate instructions for the Form, facilitating the employer providing instructions to employees filling out the Form.

The new form, like the prior version offered as a fillable .pdf, can be filled out on your computer screen or printed and filled out by hand.  USCIS makes the most recent version available at its website .