HR Tech News » USCIS

I-9 form expired — but don’t toss it yet

Sam Narisi — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:51:28 +0000

If you look closely at the upper right-hand corner of the Form I-9, you’ll see it’s supposed to expire today. What should you do now?

An easy answer: nothing.

The current form lists an expiration date of 6/30/09, but last week, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the form will remain valid after today.

On June 26, USCIS asked the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approved continued use of the current version. While the request is pending, the form will not expire, despite the date listed at the top of the first page.

When the extension is approved — and a new expiration date is set — USCIS will update the form.

But for now, just keep using the form on the agency’s Web site, dated “Rev. 02/02/09″ at the bottom of each page and the June 30 expiration date at the top.

Note: When the form is updated, it’s unlikely USCIS will make any substantial changes, just add the new dates.

Demand for foreign workers sinks with job market

Sam Narisi — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:00:25 +0000

It’s a sign of the the hard economic times that applications for those once-prized H-1B visas have dwindled along with IT job opportunities in the United States.

For evidence, take a look at the number of visa petitions the feds had received at this time last year and then check out the number they’ve gotten to date. The number this year is down by a third.

Despite this lower demand for overseas workers, foreign students are still looking to stay in America — many suppose because they already have jobs and want to be able to keep them.

The U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) started accepting H-1B visa applications on April 1. Last year at this time, it had gotten 163,000 for the 85,000 available visas. (That included 65,000 visas for foreign workers with at least a bachelor’s degree and 20,000 for graduates of U.S. universities with advanced degrees.)

A USCIS spokesman said that based on preliminary numbers, this year the agency has “about half the petitions” it needs to meet the 2010 fiscal year cap of 65,000, but it is “just short of the 20,000 advanced degree cap.”

Looks like U.S. employers don’t have the jobs to offer domestic workers, much less those from other countries. It’s too soon to know how the economic stimulus money will affect IT hiring for the rest of the year, but if government IT projects begin soon, the USCIS could be seeing greater demand for additional IT talent from abroad.

Attention: I-9 change delayed

Sam Narisi — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:00:24 +0000

Just before employers would’ve been required to use a new version of the Form I-9, the federal government has decided to push back the effective date of the new form.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the delay on Jan. 30 in response to a memorandum from the Obama administration asking federal agencies to freeze certain unimplemented regulations.

The rule updating the Form I-9 was set to take effect on Feb. 2, but has been pushed back 60 days to April 3.

Until then, employers should continue using the current version (dated 06/05/07 at the bottom of the last page).

Both the current version and the one employers will be required to switch to on April 3 are available from the USCIS here.