Speaking at the American Staffing Association Staffing Law Conference in Washington, D.C., on March 31, King said that the main change to the new Form I-9 is that employers no longer can accept expired documents.

In U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Questions and Answers about the new I-9, the USCIS explained the reason for this change, saying that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security “wants to ensure that documents presented for use in the Form I-9 process must be valid and reliably establish both identity and employment authorization. Expired documents may not portray a valid status. They are also prone to tampering and fraudulent use. This change takes into account the limits placed on these documents by their issuing authorities. If a document does not contain an expiration date, such as a Social Security card, it is considered unexpired.”

The new Form I-9 also:

· Eliminates List A identity and employment authorization documentation Forms I-688, I-688A and I-688B (temporary resident cards and outdated employment authorization cards).

· Adds foreign passports containing certain machine-readable immigrant visas to List A.

· Adds to List A as evidence of identity and employment authorization valid passports for citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), along with Form I-94 or Form I-94A indicating nonimmigrant admission under the Compact of Free Association Between the United States and the FSM or RMI.

· Makes technical updates.

King said that the Form I-9 that takes effect April 3 is the same as the form that was slated to take effect Feb. 2 before its effective date was delayed as a result of a White House directive asking all federal agencies to review regulations introduced by the Bush administration that had not taken effect before Jan. 20, 2009.

Laura Dye, director of human resources at United Service Cos. in Chicago, told SHRM Online that training on the new I-9 has been a challenge. Some managers are “terrified” to sign the document, afraid that they might have gotten something wrong, she said. Before training was provided, some managers didn’t understand that the entire I-9 Form wasn’t changed. “We have to point out where much remains the same.”

Dye added that one ongoing challenge with I-9 compliance is the different rules that apply to new hires coming from U.S. territories like Puerto Rico vs. new hires from other countries. For example, driver’s licenses from Puerto Rico are acceptable List B documents, but driver’s licenses from most foreign countries (except Canada) are not, which is a distinction that some employees do not realize.

Some employees are confused by the fact that Canadian new hires may present their driver’s licenses to establish their identities, while new hires from other neighboring countries, such as Mexico, may not.

Regardless, King reminded conference attendees that as of April 3, expired driver’s licenses and other expired documents no longer can be accepted to document employment eligibility and/or identity.

Employers that use the old form on or after April 3 may be subject to civil money penalties, the USCIS cautions.

Allen Smith, J.D., is manager of workplace law content for SHRM.