U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new edition of the Form I-9 on April 3.
The new version of the government’s employment eligibility verification form, dated 01/20/25, is currently available for download and has an expiration date of May 31, 2027. The new form contains minor changes in language and an updated privacy notice.
Employers may continue to use prior editions of the I-9 form until their respective expiration date. Those versions include:
- The 08/01/23 edition, valid until May 31, 2027.
- The 08/01/23 edition, valid until July 31, 2026. Employers using this edition in an electronic system must, by July 31, 2026, update their system with an edition of Form I-9 bearing a 05/31/2027 expiration date.
In addition, starting April 3, E-Verify and E-Verify+ will have updated the Citizenship Status selection during case creation to reflect the new language, “An alien authorized to work.” Depending on the form edition that is used, employees and employers may continue to see the prior text, “A noncitizen authorized to work,” in some E-Verify cases.
The new Form I-9 has revised the List B document descriptions to use “sex” instead of “gender.” This change coincides with another announcement from USCIS, indicating that the agency would now officially recognize only two biological sexes—male and female—reflecting a recent executive order from the Trump administration titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” According to this announcement, while the agency will not deny benefits solely based on how sex is indicated, it will not issue any documents that are either blank regarding sex or contain a designation differing from the sex assigned at birth.
How EMP Trust Can Help
Companies can navigate these changes easily and avoid penalties by utilizing EMP Trust’s Electronic Form I-9 platform. Our system ensures that you remain compliant with the latest USCIS regulations, streamlining the hiring process and reducing the risk of errors. Stay updated and compliant with EMP Trust!
Employers should ensure that the new form is integrated into their employment eligibility verification systems by July 31, 2026, and communicated to the staff responsible for employment eligibility verification. Employers should also review their Form I-9 compliance and prepare for potential I-9 audits and worksite visits.
