#Nextchat: What’s Next for Work Authorization?

Immigration reform is fully under way as the “Gang of Eight," a group of Republican and Democratic senators, introduced its bi-partisan immigration reform bill on April 18. Human resources professionals around the country are paying close attention as passage of the bill could profoundly affect their internal processes and overall talent management strategies.  

Many HR pros -- who may also be required to use the E-Verify system -- are also just getting their arms around the new I-9 form, which includes several improvements to minimize errors in completion.  The changes include:

• Adding data fields, including the employee’s foreign passport information (if applicable) and telephone and e-mail addresses.
• Improving the form’s instructions.
• Revising the layout of the form, and expanding the form from one to two pages (not including the form instructions and the List of Acceptable Documents).

LawLogix Group VP & General Counsel John Fay added that “It’s absolutely critical for HR to develop new policies and guidelines around the new form in order to ensure a smooth transition and decrease the potential for confusion or inconsistent practices.”  He told SHRM Online, “We received a ton of questions concerning the telephone number and e-mail address fields, and so I can only imagine how this may impact organizations who hire on a frequent basis. It may seem trivial, but with I-9 compliance, every little change matters.”

What do you think about the new I-9 form? How is it affecting your job as an HR professional?

Join @weknownext at 3 p.m. on April 24 for #Nextchat with Justin Storch of The American Council on International Personnel (ACIP) @ACIPimmigration and Daniel Brown, Partner, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP (@DBrown367). We’ll chat about how the new I-9 form is affecting HR department processes and procedures and answer questions you may have on its implementation.

Q1. As an HR pro, what are the biggest problems you encounter with verifying employment status?
Q2. How have you revised HR processes and procedures to accommodate the new I-9?
Q3. What problems with the old I-9 were not addressed in the new form?
Q4. As an HR pro, will the new I-9 form make your job and work authorization easier?
Q5. If you could redesign the form, what changes would you include to make administration easier for HR?
Q6. What is your opinion of the E-Verify system and could/should it replace the I-9 in every state? 
Q7. What questions do you have about the new I-9?