U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification to extend the expiration date to 05/31/2027. August 2, 2024: The expiration date for the I-9 form has been extended to May 31, 2027. Employers must now use the Form I-9 with the edition date of 08/1/23, which may display an expiration date of either 07/31/2026 or 05/31/2027. Both forms are valid until their respective expiration dates. To streamline compliance, downloads available on the Form I-9 download page will now exclusively feature the new expiration date of 05/31/2027.
As of April 8, 2024, the automatic extension period for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) is up to 540 days for certain applicants. This is due to a temporary final rule published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The rule applies to applicants who:
Filed a Form I-765 renewal application on or after October 27, 2023, and their application was still pending on April 8, 2024 Filed a Form I-765 renewal application on or after April 8, 2024, and on or before September 30, 2025. The rule was implemented to address the increasing number of renewal EAD applicants and the time it takes for USCIS to process applications. Without extension, USCIS estimates that around 800,000 renewal applicants could lose work authorization in the next two years
The rule was implemented to address the increasing number of renewal EAD applicants and the time it takes for USCIS to process applications. Without the extension, USCIS estimates that around 800,000 renewal applicants could lose work authorization in the next two years. Automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension – USCIS. Employers should also review their records to identify any employees with automatically extended EADs. These employees will need to be reverified before they start work on November 4, 2024. Employers are encouraged to update their electronic Forms I-9 systems to incorporate the 05/31/2027 expiration date as soon as possible. The transition must be completed no later than July 31, 2026, which is the expiration date on the previously issued Form I-9.
As a former external auditor hired by DHS, to review over 7,000 I-9 forms and make corrections, it is critical to review your I-9 forms now as the new I-9 forms have been launched Employers and their representative need to be clear of what I-9 Form compliance efforts are expected. Along with the New 2024 I-9 Form, there have been changes in the E-Verify compliance with new options for employees. As E-Verify continues to make their NexGen program a push for 2024, they predict that the error rate on the I-9 form will be reduced because the errors made by Employers have been most of the reason for the error rate.
What should employers do now as they mitigate their I-9 correction process and conduct internal audits? They should conduct their internal/external audits based on the current changes made to the current I-9 form. DHS has established what the errors are for 2024 and it is easy to be complacent but, audits will be pending soon.
