Note: This section only applies to employers who have selected Option II
If you choose to review and verify the information on existing Forms I-9 with your existing employees, there will be instances where you must complete a new Form I-9. A new Form I-9 must be completed if your employee:
- Presented an expired document on a previous Form I-9 that allowed for such documents.
- Presented an unexpired Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551) or U.S. Passport on a previous Form I-9 and that document has since expired, and his or her employment eligibility is still current, but you do not have a copy of the document.
- Is an alien whose employment eligibility as stated in Section 1 of Form I-9 has expired.
- Presented a List B document that did not have a photo when he or she completed the previous Form I-9.
- Presented a List B document on a previous Form I-9 and you are unable to determine if that document had a photo.
- Presented a document such as a Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570) or Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688) that was acceptable at the time of completion of the previous Form I-9, but is no longer acceptable on the latest Form I-9.
- Was at the time of attestation a noncitizen national of the United States and was unable to attest to his or her correct status in Section 1 of Form I-9 with a revision date before February 2, 2009.
- Had a change in his or her immigration status.
- Changed his or her name.
- Completed his or her previous Form I-9 and it did not comply with Form I-9 requirements at the time of completion.
NOTE: Employers must treat all employees consistently when completing Form I-9. Employers may not request more or different documents than are required to verify employment eligibility, reject genuine documents or specify certain documents over others with the purpose or intent of discriminating on the basis of citizenship status or national origin.
Instructions for updating a previously completed Form I-9:
- If your employee presented an unexpired Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551), Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766), U.S. Passport or Passport Card and it is still unexpired, make a copy of the document and retain it with the employee’s Form I-9.
- If your employee did not provide his or her Social Security number when completing a previous Form I-9, or if the employee claims that the Social Security number has changed since then, the employee should update Section 1 of the previous Form I-9 with his or her current Social Security number.
- If your employee’s Alien number has been changed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the employee should update Section 1 of the previous Form I-9 with his or her current Alien number.
- If your employee presented an unexpired List B document on a previous Form I-9 and that document has since expired, you do not need to request a new version to update a previously completed Form I-9.
- If your employee presented an unexpired Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551), U.S. Passport or Passport Card on a previous Form I-9 which has since expired, his or her employment eligibility is still current, and you have a copy of the document, you may not request that the employee present an unexpired version of either document. However, as is stated in Section 2.2.1, a new Form I-9 may be completed.
Employers must treat all employees consistently when updating a previously completed Form I-9. Requesting a specific document on the basis of someone’s citizenship status or national origin may violate the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1324b or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 .
NOTE: Expanded document verification and error messages
E-Verify has expanded verification of Form I-9 documentation to include driver’s licenses. E-Verify may prompt you to provide additional information when an employee presents a driver’s license for Section 2 of Form I-9.
As of April 3, 2009, all documents presented by an employee for Form I-9 must be unexpired (see exception below). If you enter a document for an employee that was expired at the time the employee was hired, and the employee was hired after April 3, 2009, E-Verify will display the ‘Error: Unexpired Document Required’ screen. This means that E-Verify has NOT created a case for this employee; you must obtain an unexpired document for Form I-9 and re-enter the case. This error message applies to U.S. Passports and Passport Cards as well as driver’s licenses and ID cards issued by a U.S. state or outlying possession.
An expired document does not mean that the employee is not authorized to work in the United States. E-Verify will confirm the employment eligibility of this employee once you obtain an unexpired document and re-enter the case.
Exception: In very limited situations, you may accept an expired document with Form I-9 only if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has automatically extended the expiration date of the document via publication in the Federal Register. In all other instances, the document presented with Form I-9 must be unexpired at the time the worker is referred. For information on this exception, visit www.uscis.gov/tps
REMINDER: Employers may not specify or request which Form I-9 documentation an employee must use.
For more information, see the ‘E-Verify User Manual for Federal Contractors’ and the ‘Handbook for Employers: Instructions for Completing Form I-9 (M-274).’