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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency updated Form I-9 for Employment Eligibility Verification. Employers must now use the revised form.

Updates to Form I-9

The Department of Homeland Security website, https://www.uscis.gov/, states that employers who recruit, refer potential employees (for a fee) or hire must complete a Form I-9 for each candidate to help verify the person's identity and their authorization to work in the United States. As of September 18, 2017 employers must use a revised version of the Form I-9.

Employers can find a copy of the updated form here: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9. The USCIS also created a handbook for employers that answers questions about Form I-9 and provides guidance for properly completing all relevant documentation. See that handbook here: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/handbook-employers-m-274.

Regulations Regarding Retaining Form I-9

U.S. employers must retain a copy of every employee's Form I-9 for as long as the person is on payroll or receiving any form of remuneration. When that employment ends, the employer must keep the I-9 form for a period of time. The USCIS provides a simple method for determining how long employers must save each Form I-9 for previous employees.

Regulations Regarding Storing Form I-9

The USCIS provides rules for storing these forms. They must be:

• Kept at the work site or off-site at a storage facility.
• Retained either in a single format or via multiple formats such as paper, electronically, microfilm or microfiche.
• Accessible for review within 3 business days in case a government official asks to inspect the documents.

If the Form I-9 and related documents are available on paper, they may be kept with other personnel records. However, they should be separated to easily facilitate an inspection request.

Form I-9 Inspections

Government officials from various departments, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor, have the right to review and inspect an employer's I-9 forms and accompanying documents. In most cases, a government official will provide written notice of their inspection request and give the employer 3 business days in which to collect the necessary materials. In some cases, subpoenas and warrants may be issued to supersede the 3-day time frame.

When asked to provide I-9 forms and related documents for inspection, employers must:

• Collect and make available all relevant documents within the required time frame.
• Retrieve and/or reproduce forms that are stored electronically.
• If necessary, provide hardware or software to enable viewing of electronically stored documents.
• Provide an electronic summary of the data contained on the Form I-9 if a summary exists.

It is a violation of law for employers to either delay an inspection or refuse to collect and present the requested documentation.

Staying Compliant with New and Ongoing Regulations

When new state and federal laws are created, or existing laws are updated, employers must be aware of and compliant with those changes. Backgrounds Online endeavors to keep up with these laws and provide relevant information via our website, blog and Newsletters.

Check our State Law section for important information about laws that that affect employers, background screening and hiring. Watch this blog for new articles about topics that might impact you. If you have questions about how we can help improve the background screening portion of your hiring process, please contact our team for assistance.