Effective Date of New Form I-9 Delayed

February 2, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has delayed the implementation of a new rule and new Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) governing the types of identity and employment authorization documents employers can accept from new employees.

According to Business and Legal Reports (BLR), the rule and new form were scheduled to go into effect February 2. The new effective date is April 3, 2009.

Under the new rule, employers will no longer be able to accept expired documents to verify employment authorization. The new rule will also add to List A of the Form I-9 foreign passports containing specially-marked machine-readable visas and documentation for certain citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), BLR said.

The revised Form I-9 includes additional changes, such as revisions to the employee attestation section, and the addition of the new U.S. Passport Card to List A.   

The USCIS said in its announcement that the delay will provide it with an opportunity for further consideration of the rule and also allows the public additional time to submit comments. USCIS has reopened the public comment period for 30 days, until March 4, 2009.

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