This final rule amends Department of Homeland Security regulations to provide that employers and recruiters or referrers for a fee who are required to complete and retain the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, may sign this form electronically and retain this form in an electronic format. This final rule makes minor changes to an interim final rule promulgated in 2006.

The completed Form I-9 is not filed with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Rather, the Form I-9 is retained by the employer who must make it available for inspection upon a request by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigators or other authorized federal officials. Employers are required to retain a Form I-9 in their own files for three years after the date of hire of the employee or one year after the date that employment is terminated, whichever is later. 8 CFR 274a.2(c)(2). Recruiters or referrers for a fee are required to retain each Form I-9 for three years after the date of hire. Id. at (d)(2). Failure to properly complete and retain each Form I-9 may subject the employer or recruiter or referrer for a fee to civil money penalties. INA section 274A(e)(5), 8 U.S.C. 1324a(e)(5).

In this final rule, DHS makes minor modifications to 8 CFR 274a.2 to clarify certain provisions that:

Employers must complete a Form I-9 within three business (not calendar) days;

Employers may use paper, electronic systems, or a combination of paper and electronic systems;

Employers may change electronic storage systems as long as the systems meet the performance requirements of the regulations;

Employers need not retain audit trails of each time a Form I-9 is electronically viewed, but only when the Form I-9 is created, completed, updated, modified, altered, or corrected; and

Employers may provide or transmit a confirmation of a Form I-9 transaction, but are not required to do so unless the employee requests a copy.