Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 82017 Brings in a New USCIS Form I-9 By: Angela Davis Clark, HR Director Immigration reform has been an on- going topic of discussion over the last year. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the government agency that oversees lawful immigration in the United States. The USCIS has changed the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, which becomes effective January 22, 2017. In 1913 the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization divided into separate Bureaus, the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization, and it was placed in the Department of Labor. In 1933 the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization reunited into a single agency called the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). In 1940 the INS transferred from the Department of Labor to the Department of Justice. In 2002 the Homeland Security Act abolished the INS and separated the former agency into three agencies: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). In 2003, these agencies became a part of the newly created Department of Homeland Security. They were formed to enhance the security and improve the efficiency of national immigration services by exclusively focusing on the administration of benefit applications. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), handle immigration enforcement and border security functions. The USCIS mission is to secure America’s promise as a nation of immigrants by providing accurate and useful information to those seeking immigration benefit and information services, granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system. The Form I-9 requirements were established in 1986 when Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which prohibits employers from hiring people, including U.S. citizens, for employment in the United States without verifying their identity and employment authorization. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of the Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens. On the form, an employee must attest to his/her employment authorization by presenting acceptable documents evidencing identity and employment authorization. The employer is responsible for examining the documents and verifying authenticity, then recording those documents on the Form I-9. Employers must keep a completed Form I-9 on file for each person on the payroll. The new version of the Form I-9 makes the following changes: • Requests “other last names used” rather than “other names used” • Streamlines certification for certain foreign nationals • Additional prompts to ensure information is entered correctly • Ability to enter multiple preparers and translators • Specific area for including additional information rather than having to add it in the margins • Supplemental page for the preparer/translator. • Makes it easier to complete on a computer. Any changes that make a form more efficient and user-friendly gets a “thumbs up” from me. This is one of the changes that HR will have to tackle, first thing, as we cross over into 2017. Happy New Year Everyone! USCIS Revises Form I-9, Used for All New Hires in U.S., U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, https://www.uscis.gov/ news/news-releases/uscis-revises-form-i-9- used-all-new-hires-us, retrieved 12/14/2016. Our History, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/ our-history, retrieved 12/14/2016. About Us, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, https://www.uscis.gov/aboutus, retrieved 12/14/2016. I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, https:// www.uscis.gov/i-9, retrieved 12/14/2016. 3