USCIS DELAYS IMPLEMENTATION OF REVISED FORM I-9 UNTIL APRIL 3, 2009

On Friday, January 30, 2009, the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) decided to delay implementing the interim final rule regarding the Revised I-9 Form, to permit further consideration of the rule and opportunity for public comment. Originally, in an effort to streamline the employment authorization process, USCIS on December 17, 2008 issued an interim final Rule amending the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9), and had established that, effective February 2, 2009, all employers must use a revised Form I-9 to verify the employment authorization of all new hires and to re-verify current employees whose temporary work authorization has expired. The USCIS made a last minute decision to delay implementation of the interim final rule until April 3, 2009. In our January Eupdate, which was disseminated before the USCIS implemented this delay, we had reminded employers about the February 2, 2009 deadline for using the new form. Employers should not use the revised Form I-9 and are required to continue using the existing Form I-9. Assuming no further delay, the new Form I-9 must be used for the employment authorization process on or after April 3, 2009.

February 2, 2009

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