Minor Changes to Form I-9 and E-Verify Updates

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has made minor changes to Form I‑9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to align with statutory language, and updated the DHS Privacy Notice. The revised Form I‑9 with an edition date 01/20/25 and an expiration date 05/31/2027 is now available for download, while multiple previous editions remain valid until their respective expiration dates:

• Form I‑9 (08/01/23 edition) that is valid until 05/31/2027

• Form I‑9 (08/01/23 edition) that is valid until 07/31/2026 (Employers using this form must update their electronic systems with the 05/31/2027 expiration date by July 31, 2026.)

Key updates include:

• Renaming the fourth checkbox in Section 1 to “An alien authorized to work”

• Revising the descriptions of two List B documents in the Lists of Acceptable Documents

• Adding appropriate statutory language and a revised DHS Privacy Notice to the instructions

Starting April 3, 2025, E‑Verify and E‑Verify+ will have updated the Citizenship Status selection during case creation to reflect this statutory language. The selection “A noncitizen authorized to work” will be updated to “An alien authorized to work.”

Employers should note:

• If an employee attests on Form I‑9 as “A noncitizen authorized to work,” the employer must select “An alien authorized to work” in E‑Verify.

• E‑Verify cases will display “An alien authorized to work,” while employees and employers may continue to see “A noncitizen authorized to work” on Form I‑9, depending on the form edition being used.

• E‑Verify+ participants will see the updated 01/20/25 edition date and 05/31/2027 expiration date reflected in Form I‑9NG.

Additionally, E‑Verify users creating cases through Web Services applications will see the employee status attestation automatically updated to “An alien authorized to work”—even if the WS application submits “A noncitizen authorized to work” if the employee selected citizenship status number four on Form I‑9.

This change does not affect the current Interface Control Agreement (ICA) version 31.1, which already provides the necessary guidance for Web Services developers. WS developers should update their platforms to transmit “An alien authorized to work” instead of “A noncitizen authorized to work” as soon as possible.

If you have questions, please email e-verify-webservices@uscis.dhs.gov.

For more information, visit I-9 Central, or join a free Form I-9 webinar or E-Verify+ webinar.

Be Audit-Secure™!

Lisa Smith, SPHR, SCP