U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Between now and September 18, 2017, employers may choose to use either the current version (dated 11/14/2016) or the new version (dated 07/17/2017). Beginning September 18, 2017, employers must use the new version for all new hires and for reverifications.

Employers must complete a Form I-9 within three (3) days of hire to verify the identity and work authorization of all newly-hired employees, and to re-verify the work authorization of employees whose present work authorization will expire. Employers must use the version of Form I-9 that is current at the time of hire or reverification. Using an expired or invalid version of the form can result in penalties for noncompliance.

As always, please contact us with any questions.

The State Department has released the August 2017 Visa Bulletin listing the priority dates eligible for “Application Final Action,” i.e. when an I-485 adjustment of status (AOS) application may be approved or an immigrant visa (IV) issued, and the priority dates eligible for “Filing Applications,” i.e. when an AOS or IV application may be filed.

As of August 1, 2017, most of the “Final Action Dates” in the family-based categories will remain stagnant, although the family-based second category for spouses and children of Lawful Permanent Residents (F2A) will advance from one to four weeks for all countries. In addition, for nationals of Mexico and the Philippines the “Final Action Dates” in each category will advance from two to six weeks.

As predicted last month, the EB-2 “Final Action Date” for all countries (except China and India) will retrogress significantly to April 1, 2015, and will remain backlogged for the rest of the fiscal year. The department expects this category to become current again when the new fiscal year begins in October 2017.

On the bright side, there will be continued forward movement in the employment-based “Final Action Dates” in the EB-3 category, highlighted by a one year advance for nationals of the Philippines. The EB-3 date for “worldwide” and Mexico will become “current” in August and EB-3 India will advance three months. However, the EB-3 date for Chinese nationals in the “other workers” sub-category (for positions requiring less than two years of experience) will retrogress to nearly three years to January 1, 2014.

With regard to the “Dates for Filing,” there will be no movement in the family-based categories. In the employment-based categories, EB-3 India will advance three months and EB-3 Philippines will advance seven months.

As a reminder, the “Dates for Filing Applications” are valid only for consular processing immigrant visa applications. USCIS  makes a separate determination whether to allow the filing of AOS applications under the “Dates for Filing” chart or the “Final Action Dates” chart in the visa bulletin. USCIS has determined that the “Final Action Dates” chart must be used for both family-based and employment-based adjustment of status filings in August 2017.
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You can view the visa bulletin in its entirety below. Please contact us with any questions.