On April 3, 2009 USCIS published an interim rule intended to improve the integrity of the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) process. This interim rule made several key changes to the Form I-9 process, including requiring employers to accept only unexpired documents, deleting outdated documents from the list of acceptable documents, and adding documentation applicable to certain citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Marshall Islands. The final rule adopted the interim rule without change.
The final rule was published in the Federal Register on April 15, 2011 and will be effective on May 16, 2011. Employers may continue to use the two most recent versions of the Form I-9 (Rev. 08/07/2009 and 02/02/2009). It is critical that employers ensure that their current I-9 processes are in compliance with the final rule.