I-9 E-Verify Immigration Compliance

By Bruce Buchanan, Sebelist Buchanan Law



On February 14, 2017, the USCIS finally released the new “Handbook for Employers – Guidance for Completing Form I-9” (also referred to as M-274). In a comical note (at least for immigration compliance gurus), the USCIS backdated the handbook with the date of January 22, 2017.

As you probably know, the M-274 Handbook for Employers is the USCIS’s guidance on how to complete and retain the I-9 form. Additionally, this M-274 handbook captures policy and regulatory changes since 2013, explains guidance regarding automatic extensions for certain Employment Authorization Documents, features more current sample documents, and provides an overview of unlawful discrimination due to citizenship status or national origin, document abuse, and retaliation. (These prohibited practices are not enforced by the USCIS; rather, they are enforced by the Immigrant and Employee Rights (IER) of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, which was formerly entitled Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC)).

A new M-274 handbook was necessary due to USCIS’s introduction of the new I-9 form (eff. date 11/14/2016), which became mandatory for use for new hires on January 22, 2017. (This date explains the USCIS’s interest in backdating the M-274). As explained in a previous blog entry, the new I-9 form added a number of new features, including: modifying Section 1 to request certain employees to enter either their I-94 number or foreign passport information, rather than both; replacing the “Other Names Used” field in Section 1 with “Other Last Names Used”; requiring “N/A” be entered instead of blanks in certain fields in Section 1; providing a box for employees to check if they did or did not use a preparer or translator; modifying the I-9 form by adding a supplemental third page if using multiple preparers and/or translators; and adding an area in Section 2 to enter additional necessary information, such as for TPS extensions, OPT STEM extensions and H-1B portability. The new M-274 handbook offers guidance on how to utilize the new features of the I-9 form.

The 64-page handbook is an important tool for Human Resource employees, who handle I-9 compliance, as well as immigrant attorneys, who want the latest guidance from the USCIS. Many of its explanations are repetitive from the instructions that accompany the I-9 form or information available on I-9 Central – an Internet-based website that answers many I-9 related questions. However, the M-274 handbook is a convenient go-to document that answers many questions.

I recommend all individuals involved in I-9 compliance read the new handbook. For non-immigration compliance gurus, the reading of the handbook may be the answer for insomnia.

Tags: handbook for employers, human resource employees, i-9 compliance, i-9 form, uscis