The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") yesterday issued a press release announcing that a revised I-9 form is now available for use. The changes to the I-9 are minor, dealing only with the list of documents that establish both identity and employment eligibility (List A). The documents that were removed from List A lacked security features that deter counterfeiting, tampering, and fraud. USCIS states that employers are "encouraged" to start using the revised I-9 form immediately but that use will be mandatory only after notice is published in the Federal Register. Littler Global will let you know when that publication occurs.

Removed from List A are the following documents:

1. Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (N-560 or N-570)
2. Certificate of Naturalization (N-550 or N-570)
3. Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151)
4. Unexpired Reentry Permit (I-327)
5. Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (I-571)

Added to List A is the most recent version of the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) (I-766). The revised List A now consists of the following documents:

1. U.S. Passport (unexpired or expired)
2. Permanent Resident Card (I-551)
3. Unexpired foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp
4. Unexpired Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph
5. Unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired Arrival- Departure Record (I-94) for nonimmigrant aliens authorized to work for a specific employer

Another minor revision is that the instructions now indicate that providing the Social Security Number of the employee is voluntary, unless the employer participates in the E-Verify program.

The revised form I-9 and the "Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I-9" are both available online. For your convenience, we have also attached both documents to this ASAP.

If you have questions, please contact a Littler Global professional.

Bonnie K. Gibson and Rodney A. Malpert were Shareholders in Littler Global's Phoenix office. If you would like further information, please contact your Littler attorney at 1.888.Littler or info@littler.com.