New U.S. Form I-9 Mandatory On Wednesday, Seeks To Fight Immigration Document Fraud
December 26, 2007 8:19 a.m. EST



Vittorio Hernandez - AHN News Writer
Washington, DC (AHN) - A new employment verification form, the I-9, must be filled out by every employer in the U.S. as part of the country's battle against immigration document fraud. Its implementation starts Wednesday, although the law creating the form was crafted in 1996.

According to immigration experts, the mandatory use of form I-9 is just the first step in a series of federal initiatives to cut down the number of documents used to verify employment.

Chris Bentley, spokesman of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said, "We're anticipating a smooth transition from the old form to the new one." He added, "It's the one we've publicized to the employer community, one they know is coming, and it's as simple as downloading the new form and using that as of the 26th."

The implementation of the new form has been delayed by 10 years due to the transition of the government agency overseeing immigration from the old Immigration and Naturalization Service to the USCIS.

Form I-9 has been out and effective November 7, but it became mandatory December 26. Wal-Mart, the U.S.' largest employer with 1.3 million workers, said it already began using the new form, according to Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber.

The new form dropped as a requirement certificates of U.S. citizenship and naturalization, which are easily faked. It retains 5 documents to establish employee identity and employment eligibility, including the U.S. passport and permanent resident card.

All new employees hired after November 7, 2007 must fill up the new form. Existing employees whose old I-9 files are still intact do not need to fill up the new form. The implementation of the I-9 form did not affect the amount of penalty imposed on U.S. employers who are caught hiring illegal immigrants. The fine is from $250 to $2,000 for that offense, while paperwork errors will be meted a fine of $100 to $1,000.

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