U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a notice in the Federal Registrar inviting public comment on a revised Form I-9. (http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=12cf087598056310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD ).
The key revisions proposed to the form include expanded instructions, a revised layout, additional fields to collect the employee’s email address and telephone number, and new data fields to collect the foreign passport number and country of issuance. The form also suggests that now only aliens authorized to work in the U.S. who have also recorded their I-94 admission number on Form I-9 will need to provide the foreign passport number and country of issuance. You may see the suggested new form at http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=USCIS-2006-0068-0013
The public may comment on the revisions by visiting www.regulations.gov, which provides instructions on how to comment on the proposed revisions to Form I-9. The comment period runs for 60 days, beginning today and ending May 29, 2012.
USCIS will post information regarding a new Form I-9 at their “I-9 Central” page once the form has been revised and finalized. For now, employers must continue to use the current version of the form and may access USCIS’ I-9 Central for step-by-step instructions for completing the form, and information on acceptable documents for establishing identity and employment authorization. www.uscis.gov/I-9central.