New Form I-9

USCIS has released a new version of Form I-9, https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/whats-new. This new version of the form can be used now, or employers can continue using Form I-9 with a revision date of 11/14/16 for the next couple of months. 

Starting on September 18, 2017, the new version of the form (which contains a revision date of 07/17/17 N) will be mandatory. This means employers must start using the new version of Form I-9 for employees hired on or after September 18. Employers are not required to go back and replace any forms completed for employees hired prior to that date.

The new form contains just a few changes, outlined below. Although the changes are minor, it is critical that employers start using the new version on or before September 18, as failure to use the correct form version can result in significant fines.

• The List of Acceptable Documents was changed to:
  • Add the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) to List C. 
  • Combine all the certifications of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350 and Form FS-240) into selection C#2 in List C.
  • Renumber the List C documents.
• The  Form I-9 instructions were revised to:
  • Change the name of the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices to its new name, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section.
  • Remove “the end of” from the phrase “the first day of employment,” which makes the language consistent with the regulation.
• These changes are also reflected in a revised Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274).

H-1B Cap Exceeded, Even With Reduced Filings

Although the number of H-1B filings was down for this year's cap, the cap was greatly exceeded and a lottery selection has been made. Of the 199,000 petitions submitted, approximately 85,000 H-1Bs will be granted. 

Receipt notices are being sent for those lucky enough to have made the lottery, with rejection packages expected soon thereafter. In past years, the notifications have taken weeks to send out, even up to a couple of months.

Compared to prior years, the number of submissions this year was down. Last year, 236,000 petitions were submitted for the H-1B cap, and 233,000 the year before. Even with the drop to 199,000 this year, this still leaves applicants with about a 50/50 chance to make the lottery. And not all cases selected in the lottery will be approved. USCIS accepts more than 85,000 petitions based on an algorithm predicting the number of cases it expects to deny.  

The USCIS announcement regarding the H-1B lottery selection is available here: https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-completes-h-1b-cap-random-selection-process-fy-2018