A new employment verification form, the
I-9, must be filled out by every employer in the U.S. as part of the
country's battle against immigration document fraud. Its implementation
starts Wednesday, although the law creating the form was crafted in
1996.
According to
immigration experts, the mandatory use of form I-9 is just the first
step in a series of federal initiatives to cut down the number of
documents used to verify employment.
Chris
Bentley, spokesman of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,
said, "We're anticipating a smooth transition from the old form to the
new one." He added, "It's the one we've publicized to the employer
community, one they know is coming, and it's as simple as downloading
the new form and using that as of the 26th."
The
implementation of the new form has been delayed by 10 years due to the
transition of the government agency overseeing immigration from the old
Immigration and Naturalization Service to the USCIS.
Form
I-9 has been out and effective November 7, but it became mandatory
December 26. Wal-Mart, the U.S.' largest employer with 1.3 million
workers, said it already began using the new form, according to
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber.
The
new form dropped as a requirement certificates of U.S. citizenship and
naturalization, which are easily faked. It retains 5 documents to
establish employee identity and employment eligibility, including the
U.S. passport and permanent resident card.
All
new employees hired after November 7, 2007 must fill up the new form.
Existing employees whose old I-9 files are still intact do not need to
fill up the new form. The implementation of the I-9 form did not affect
the amount of penalty imposed on U.S. employers who are caught hiring
illegal immigrants. The fine is from $250 to $2,000 for that offense,
while paperwork errors will be meted a fine of $100 to $1,000.(ahn)
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