On January 31, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a Form I-9 Federal Register notice announcing a new version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification (Rev. 10/21/2019). (The new version of Form I-9 and instructions can be found here.) Employers should begin using the new form immediately, although DHS is allowing use of the prior version of the form (Rev. 07/17/2017) until April 30, 2020. Employers using the prior form after this date may face civil penalties.

DHS mades several minor changes to the form and its corresponding instructions, including clarifying certain acceptable documents and who can act as an authorized representative on behalf of an employer. Specific changes to Form I-9 are outlined in the document found here.

All employers must verify the identity and employment authorization of the individuals they hire. This process requires the employer and the new hire to complete Form I-9. The employer also must retain the form for a specific period of time so that it is available in the event of a government audit. Form I-9 lists three categories of documents that are acceptable to demonstrate identity and work authorization: List A establishes documents acceptable to demonstrate both identity and employment authorization; Lists B and C set forth those documents that must be presented in combination to establish identity and employment authorization, respectively. The employer may not specify which document(s) the employee must present. Employers should not complete the new Form I-9 (Rev. 10/21/2019) for current employees who already have a properly completed Form I-9 on file, unless reverification applies.

[View source.]