USCIS Posts Suggestions from Stakeholders for Improving Form I-9

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published an Executive Summary of a listening session it hosted on November 2, 2010 regarding the Form I-9. The summary, which you can read in full here, attempts to capture stakeholders’ comments and concerns for how to improve the form itself and the overall I-9 process.

There were many worthwhile suggestions that we hope USCIS will consider. The following is a list of the more interesting ideas with our comments.

Section 1: Employee Information and Verification

•Make it clearer that providing the social security number is optional.
While this is a helpful suggestion, remember that an SSN is optional for completing the Form I-9 except when the employee will be subject to E-Verify. The USCIS website has an E-Verify Users Guide here, which details E-Verify requirements including those that impact the I-9 process.

•Require employees who indicate that they are “an alien authorized to workâ€