All employers, agricultural recruiters and referrers for a fee are required to verify the identity and employment authorization of each individual they hire for employment in the United States, regardless of the individual’s citizenship. In 2008 an Interim Rule was passed that amended DHS regulations governing the types of acceptable identity and employment authorization documents that employees may present to employers for completion of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
Form I-9 has three categories of documents that employers may accept, alone or in combination, for employment authorization verification:
List A includes documents that establish both identity and employment authorization (e.g. U.S. Passport, Form I-551 (green card), Form I-765 (Employment Authorization Card));
List B includes documents that establish only identity (e.g. State-issued driver’s license or identification card); and
List C includes documents that establish only employment authorization (e.g. State-issued birth certificate or an unrestricted Social Security card).
An individual can submit either ONE document from List A or ONE document EACH from Lists B and C. The link to Form I-9 above also contains a complete list of acceptable documentation (see page 5). There are some additional provisions for employees who cannot present acceptable documents but this only provides coverage for a short period of time.
The final rule, which goes into effect on May 16, 2011, adopts without change all of the regulatory amendments set forth in the interim rule. Those amendments include:
Prohibiting employers from accepting expired documents;
Removing certain forms that are no longer issued by USCIS from the Lists of acceptable documents;
Adding to the Lists the new passport card and the temporary Form I-551 (green card) with a printed notation on a machine readable immigrant visa; and
Adding documentation for certain citizens of the Federal States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
The complete notice from the Federal Register can be read by clicking HERE.
Page Summary: The 2008 Interim Final Rule on I-9 Verification procedures will become final on May 16, 2011.
