Compensation Solutions Blog » I-9

USCIS Finalizes I-9 Final Rule

Tatiana Collado — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:18:47 +0000

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adopted the final rule that adopts the interim rule, in place since 2009, governing the use of the Form I-9 process. All private employers, agricultural recruiters and referrers-for-a-fee are required to use this form to verify the eligibility of all new hires to work in the United States.

Specifically, the final rule:

Prohibits employers from accepting unexpired documents;
Eliminates from List A Forms the Temporary Resident Card and the outdated Employment Authorization Cards (Forms I-688, I-688A and I-688B);
Adds to List A unexpired foreign passports with the temporary I-551 stamp, or machine readable immigrant visas with the temporary I-551 stamp;
Also adds to List A passports from the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall islands, along with Form I-94 or Form I-94A.

The final rule does not make any changes to how the form is completed, nor has the USCIS issued a new I-9 form along with the final rule. Employers can continue to use either the current version of the form (Rev. 08/07/2009) or the previous version (Rev. 02/02/2009).

180 Employers Receive I-9 Audit Notices

Teresa DeSousa — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:33:26 +0000

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued another 180 I-9 Notices of Inspection to employers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. This is part of the ICE’s I-9 inspection program, which they introduced in 2009 when they completed 1,600 such audits nationwide. As a result of those audits, the ICE issued fines ranging from $100-$1,100 per violation.

The ICE’s goal is to reduce illegal employment, protecting employment opportunities for those who are legally eligible to work in the United States. Employers who receive Notices of Inspection will have three (3) days to prepare for the audit, so all employers should be sure that their records are in order.

ICE Announces 1,000 New I-9 Employer Audits

Teresa DeSousa — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:25:32 +0000

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is apparently pleased with the results of their newly implemented worksite enforcement strategy (See http://www.nilc.org/immsemplymnt/wkplce_enfrcmnt/WSE-Fact-Sheet.pdf), because they have issued an additional 1,000 Notices of Inspection to employers in November. They will audit employers’ I-9 forms to determine compliance with employment eligibility verification laws.

The ICE also decided to release statistics since the April 30 implementation of the worksite enforcement strategy:*

45 businesses and 47 individuals debarred;
- 0 businesses and 1 individual were debarred during same period in FY 2008.
142 Notices of Intent to Fine (NIF) totaling $15,865,181;
- ICE issued 32 NIFs totaling $2,355,330 in all of FY 2008.
45 Final Orders totaling $798,179;
- ICE issued eight Final Orders totaling $196,523 during the same period in FY 2008.
1,897 cases initiated;
- ICE initiated 605 cases during the same period in FY 2008.
1,069 Form I-9 Inspections;
- ICE initiated 503 Form I-9 Inspections in all of FY 2008.

In July, ICE issued 654 NOIs to businesses nationwide in the largest operation of its kind before today – part of ICE’s effort to audit businesses suspected of using illegal labor.

Statistics resulting from the 654 audits announced in July:

ICE agents reviewed more than 85,000 Form I-9s and identified more than 14,000 suspect documents – approximately 16 percent of the total number reviewed.
To date, 61 NIFs have been issued, resulting in $2,310,255 in fines. In addition, 267 cases are currently being considered for Notices of Intent to Fine (NIFs).
ICE closed 326 cases after businesses were found to be in compliance with employment laws or after businesses were served with a Warning Notice in expectation of future compliance.

For more information, visit www.ice.gov.

* “ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton announce 1,000 new workplace audits to hold employers accountable for their hiring practices,” http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0911/091119washingtondc.htm

New I-9 Form Introduced

Teresa DeSousa — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:26:26 +0000

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released an updated version of the Form I-9. There is no difference between the current and revised versions, except that the new form is dated August 7, 2009, and will expire on August 31, 2012. Please note that you do not need to complete new forms for existing employees for whom an I-9 has been properly completed.

As a reminder, all documents presented during the verification process must be unexpired and employers cannot require specific documents from employees. Under federal law, the employee selects which document(s) he or she wishes to present as part of the I-9 verification process. Violation of this and other Form I-9 requirements may lead to civil and criminal penalties.

For more information visit: www.uscis.gov