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INS PROPOSES NEW RULES FOR EMPLOYMENT RELATED DOCUMENTS
The Immigration Service has proposed changes which will limit the number of documents that are acceptable as proof of eligibility to work in the United States. Under federal regulations, employers must complete an I-9 form to establish an employee's identity and work eligibility. Currently, over twenty-nine documents are accepted as proof of identity and / or work eligibility. These documents are classified according to one of three different "lists." List "A" documents establish both identity and work eligibility. List "B' documents establish identity. List "C" documents establish work eligibility. Either one "A" document or one "B" and one "C" document are acceptable for I-9 purposes. 
At present, "A" documents include a U.S. passport (current or expired), certificate of citizenship (N-560 or N-561), certificate of naturalization (N-550 or N-570), unexpired foreign passport with I-551 stamp, unexpired foreign passport with I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization, alien registration card (I-151 or I-551), unexpired temporary resident card (I-688), unexpired employment authorization card (I-688A), unexpired reentry permit (I-327), unexpired refugee travel document (I-571), or an unexpired employment authorization document with a photograph (I-688B). 
Current "B" documents include U.S. state driver's licenses and ID cards (must have photograph, name, sex, date of birth, height, eye color and address), federal or state or local government ID cards (must have photograph, name, sex, date of birth, height, eye color and address), school ID cards (must have photograph), voter's registration cards, U.S. military cards or draft records, U.S. military dependents ID cards, U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card, Native American tribal documents, or a driver's license issued by a Canadian government authority. In addition, persons under the age of 18 may present school records or report cards, clinic doctor or hospital records, day-care records, or nursery school records. 
Current "C" documents include U.S. social security cards (unless they state that they are not valid for employment), certificate of citizen's birth abroad (FS-545 or DS-1350), original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, municipal authority or outlying possession of the U.S., Native American tribal document, citizen ID card (I-197), ID card for resident citizen (I-179), or an unexpired employment authorization document issued by the INS that is not included in list "A." 
The INS has proposed eliminating several "A" documents, including the unexpired employment authorization card (I-688A), unexpired reentry permit (I-327), unexpired refugee travel document (I-571), and the unexpired employment authorization document with a photograph (I-688B). The INS plans to replace the I-688A and I-688B with a new employment authorization document, the I-766, which will be issued before the end of 1995. The INS also plans to remove the old I-151 alien registration card from the list of acceptable documents as of March 20, 1996. 
The Immigration Service also proposed eliminating various "B" documents, including federal and state and local government ID cards, school ID cards, voter's registration cards, U.S. military cards and draft records, U.S. military dependents ID cards, and U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Cards. Furthermore, the INS proposed removing four "C" documents, including certificates of citizen's birth abroad (FS-545 and DS-1350), citizen ID cards (I-197), and ID cards for resident citizens (I-179). 
The proposed rule would require that employees who must "reverify" their work authorization shall sign the I-9 form, attest that they are authorized to work in the United States, and disclose any future expiration dates of work authorization. The proposed rule would also allow employees to present an INS "receipt" for the application of a replacement work authorization document (dated prior to the expiration of the original document). The replacement work authorization document must be presented within 90 days of the expiration of the original document.