On Tuesday, February 23, 2011, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) held a meeting to discuss the use and design of its Form I-9, which is used to document a worker's right to work in the United States.
The participants were challenged—at the outset—to envision how they would design the I-9 if they were starting from scratch.
Though comments ranged all over the topic, most agreed that the I-9 needs clearer instructions on it and should be simplified as much as possible in design and functionality.
It was evident also that many of the participants were confused by how many documents are needed for verification from the documents listed by the USCIS form under A, B and C categories.
Most attendees participated by teleconferencing. Participants included immigration attorneys, business leaders, immigration rights groups, and educators.
One participant summed up the proceedings this way:
A common refrain among the attendees was the need for a clear, simplified I-9 that would not result in the imposition of 'gotcha' fines by ICE [Immigration and Customers Enforcement] for paperwork errors when the employer has made a good faith effort to comply.
Among its many fine products, Personnel Concepts offers a clear guide to the employee verification process in its comprehensive I-9 Compliance Kit. Get yours today.