ESR News Blog
Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – the government agency overseeing lawful immigration to the United States – has published a Federal Register notice in order to invite public comments on the proposed extension of the ‘Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification’ before the document expires on August 31, 2019, according to the ‘What’s New’ page on the USCIS website.
USCIS Invites Public Comment for Form I-9 Until April 30
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 requires a 60-day and a 30-day comment period for the Form I-9 extension. The first 60-day comment period – which seeks to obtain comments about the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden and estimated cost to the respondent, and the actual information collection instruments – will remain open until April 30, 2019.
The USCIS invited the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on this proposed extension of a currently approved collection of information. All submissions received must include the OMB Control Number 1615–0047 in the body of the letter, the agency name and Docket ID USCIS– 2006–0068. To avoid duplicate submissions, use only one of the following methods to submit comments:
- Online: Submit comments under eDocket ID number USCIS–2006–0068 via the Federal eRulemaking Portal website at https://www.regulations.gov/.
- Mail: Submit written comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), USCIS, Office of Policy and Strategy, Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, 20 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20529–2140.
The Form I-9 is used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States, including citizens and noncitizens. Both employees and employers – or authorized representatives of the employer – must complete the form.
Employees must attest to their identity and employment authorization and present employers with acceptable documents evidencing on the Form I-9. Employers examine these documents to determine whether they reasonably appear to be genuine and to relate to the employee and record the document information on the Form I-9. To learn more about the Form I-9, visit https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/.
The Form I-9 was last revised in 2017. Starting on September 18, 2017, all U.S. employers were required to use the revised Form I-9 published by the USCIS on July 17, 2017. The USCIS made revisions to the Form I-9 directions and to the List of Acceptable Documents on the Form I-9. These revisions were designed to reduce errors and enhance form completion when using a computer.
In December of 2018, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – the federal agency that enforces laws governing American border control – announced that criminal investigations, business audits, and arrests by ICE surged in fiscal year (FY) 2018 compared to FY 2017 following a commitment made by the agency to increase Form I-9 audits and worksite enforcement across the United States.
ICE is responsible for upholding laws established by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) which was passed to deter illegal immigration to the United States and requires all employers in the U.S. to verify the identity and work eligibility of employees they hire through the use of the Form I-9. ICE uses Form I-9 inspection programs and civil fines to encourage employers to comply with the IRCA.
The trend of Form I-9 audits and worksite inspections continuing to rise for employers in the United States has been chosen by a leading global background check provider Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) as the number ten trend of the “ESR Top Ten Background Check Trends” for 2019 that feature emerging and influential trends in the background screening industry for the coming year.
ESR Offers a Robust Form I-9 Solution
Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – a leading global background check provider – offers a robust Form I-9 solution that simplifies the process and enables employers to compliantly verify work status and electronically capture and retain required Form I-9 information without redundant data entry. To learn more about Form I-9 services from ESR, visit www.esrcheck.com/Background-Checks/Form-I-9-E-Verify/.
NOTE: Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.
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