I-9 Blues: A Heads Up for Employers in I-9 Document Review

On September 22, 2014, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a notice to the public after their blog posting in the Beacon on September 16, 2014. The posting notified employers that on July 1, 2014, USCIS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stopped using secure red ink for a number of stamps, which are used to document immigration status and/or work authorization.

Now, employers and state agencies should be seeing “blue” instead of “red” regarding official USCIS and CBP stamps on passports concerning the following:

1. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Parole Stamp
2. Temporary I-551 Alien Documentary Identification and Telecommunication (ADIT) Stamp
3. Refugee Stamp (Section 207)
4. Asylum Stamp (Section 208)
5. Initial / Replacement Form I-94 Stamp (Admission Record)

Employers are reminded by USCIS that they should be aware of this recent change when examining documents presented for I-9 compliance. Employers are required to make sure that documentation presented for I-9 compliance purposes appears to be genuine on its face and relate to the person presenting the documentation. Employers of course, may not specify to an employee which specific document(s) to present for I-9 completion purposes.

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