No Match No Problem For Now.

As you've probably already heard, the new DHS "Safe Harbor" regulations have been blocked by a preliminary injunction issued by a California federal court, spearheaded by none other than the AFL-CIO. Prior to the injunction, DHS was poised to send approximately 140,000 No-Match letters containing the new safe harbor rules to employers.

Following the injunction, the SSA was initially adamant that it would send the old version of the letter to those 144,000 employers this fall. Now, however, DHS officials are indicating that No-Match letters will not be sent in 2007. Instead, DHS will wait at least until the spring of 2008 to send No-Match letters, although it is not clear what form those letters might take. It is possible, even likely, that the delay will be even longer should DHS decide to wait until resolution of the California case.

In the meantime, we continue to recommend the steps discussed in our earlier article on this topic, which you can find here

New Form I-9.

Homeland Security has issued a new Form I-9. You can find the new form here and the new 50-page instruction manual here.

The most significant change was the removal of several previously acceptable documents form "List A." The documents that are no longer acceptable as proof of identity and eligibility for employment are: Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-570); Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570); the Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-151); the Re-entry Permit (Form I-327); and the Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571).