The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the new US Passport Card may be used in the Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) process. The passport card may be used by travelers in limited situations to expedite document processing. Although the card may not be used for international air travel, the card can be used at US land and sea ports-of-entry for US citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. The card is considered a valid passport that attests to the US citizenship and identity of the bearer.

The passport card is considered a “List A” document when completing the I-9. “List A” documents can be used to verify identity and work authorization.

The USCIS has also established a national customer service center to assist with information on the new passport card and the I-9 process. The Center may be contacted by calling (800) 375-5283 or on the web at www.uscis.gov. In addition, the Center offers information about E-verify, a free and voluntary program than allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees. E-verify information can be obtained by calling (888) 464-4218 or on the web at www.uscis.gov/e-verify.

When filing your I-9 forms remember a separate file should be maintained containing all I-9s. If your entity should be selected for testing by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) you will be able to simply hand the I-9 forms to the agent without sharing considerably more information than required. This prevents the INS from reporting matters such as HIPAA violations noted in the personnel files to other government agencies.

At Lewis, Hooper & Dick, LLC, we offer comprehensive services in human resources. Please contact David Lunzmann at (620)275-9267.

To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or tax related matter.

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