65974 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 226 / Monday, November 26, 2007 / Notices 

correspondence received from 

individuals, employers, and their 

designated representatives to: (1) Assist 

individuals and employers in resolving 

problems during interactions with U.S. 

Citizenship and Immigration Services 

(USCIS); (2) identify areas in which 

individuals and employers have 

problems in dealing with USCIS; and (3) 

and to the extent possible, propose 

changes to mitigate problems as 

mandated by the Homeland Security 

Act of 2002, Section 452. 

Scott Charbo, 

Chief Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. E7–22856 Filed 11–21–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–10–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

Services 

[CIS No. 2419–07; DHS Docket No.: USCIS–

2007–0044] 

RIN 1615–ZA57 

Introduction of the Amended Form I–9 

and the New Handbook for Employers 

AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services is issuing this 

Notice to introduce the newly amended 

Form I–9, ‘‘Employment Eligibility 

Verification.’’ Employers are required to 

use the Form I–9 to verify the identity 

and employment authorization of newly 

hired employees. The amended Form I–

9 contains an updated list of acceptable 

identity and employment authorization 

documents that reflect the current 

regulations. As of November 7, 2007, the 

amended Form I–9 is the only valid 

version of the form. The Department of 

Homeland Security will not seek 

penalties against an employer for using 

a previous version of the Form I–9 on 

or before December 26, 2007. 

DATES: This Notice is effective 

November 26, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gregory Francis, Department of 

Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship 

and Immigration Services, Verification 

Division, 470–490 L’Enfant Plaza East, 

SW., Suite 8206, Washington, DC 20024; 

E-mail: employer.pilots@dhs.gov; 

Telephone: 1–888–464–4218. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Illegal Immigration Reform and 

Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

(IIRIRA), Public Law 104–208, 110 Stat. 

3009 (Sept. 30, 1996), amended the 

Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) 

to reduce the number of documents that 

an employer may accept from newly 

hired employees when verifying their 

identity and employment eligibility (i.e., 

authorization) as required by law. 

IIRIRA section 412(a) (amending INA 

sec. 274A(b)(1), 8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)). 

On September 30, 1997, the Immigration 

and Naturalization Service (INS) 

published an interim rule, ‘‘Interim 

Designation of Acceptable Documents 

for Employment Verification,’’

implementing those amendments. See 

62 FR 51001. However, INS did not 

concurrently amend the Form I–9, 

‘‘Employment Eligibility Verification,’’

that employers must use to conduct the 

required verification to reflect the 

changes made by the interim rule. As a 

result, the Form I–9 (Rev. 05–31–05) 

contained an outdated list of acceptable 

documents. 

In the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

accompanying the 1997 interim rule, the 

INS stated that it planned to issue a new 

Form I–9 in the context of a broader 

final rulemaking. While U.S. 

Citizenship and Immigration Services 

(USCIS), which now maintains the Form 

I–9, still intends to pursue a broader 

rulemaking, given the long passage of 

time since the interim rule, allowing an 

outdated Form I–9 to remain in use has 

become untenable. Therefore, USCIS 

has amended the Form I–9 document 

list to be consistent with the regulations. 

On November 7, 2007, USCIS posted the 

amended Form I–9 on its Web site, at 

http://www.uscis.gov. The amended 

Form I–9 has a revision date of June 5, 

2007, which is printed as ‘‘(Rev. 06/05/ 

07)N’’ on the lower right corner of the 

form. As of November 7, 2007, this is 

the only valid version of the form. 

This Notice introduces the newly 

amended Form I–9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N 

and instructs employers on its use. 

II. Changes to Form I–9 

A. List A—Revised 

Because the 1997 interim rule was 

limited to Form I–9 List A documents, 

the amended Form I–9 reflects changes 

to the documents listed under List A 

only. List A documents are those that 

evidence both an individual’s identity 

and employment eligibility. The 

amended Form I–9 no longer lists the 

following as List A documents: (1) The 

Certificate of United States Citizenship 

(Form N–560 or N–561); (2) the 

Certificate of Naturalization (Form N–

550 or N–570); (3) the Form I–151, a 

long out-of-date version of the Alien 

Registration Receipt Card (‘‘green 

card’’); (4) the Unexpired Reentry 

Permit (Form I–327); and (5) the 

Unexpired Refugee Travel Document 

(Form 1–571). 

The amended Form I–9 retains four 

types of acceptable List A documents: 

(1) The U.S. Passport (unexpired or 

expired); (2) the Permanent Resident 

Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card 

(Form I–551); (3) an unexpired foreign 

passport with a temporary I–551 stamp; 

and (4) an unexpired Employment 

Authorization Document that contains a 

photograph (Form I–766, I–688, I–688A, 

I–688B). All of these acceptable List A 

documents were carried over from the 

previous Form I–9, with the exception 

of the Form I–766, which is a new 

addition to List A. The amended Form 

I–9 also modifies one acceptable List A 

document. The List A document 

entitled, ‘‘unexpired foreign passport 

with an attached Form I–94 indicating 

unexpired employment authorization,’’

has been replaced by ‘‘an unexpired 

foreign passport with an unexpired 

Arrival-Departure Record, Form I–94, 

bearing the same name as the passport 

and containing an endorsement of the 

alien’s nonimmigrant status, if that 

status authorizes the alien to work for 

the employer.’’

USCIS also has amended the order 

and organization of List A to track the 

regulations more directly. For example, 

the various Employment Authorization 

Documents are listed together as one 

category, and the unexpired foreign 

passport with temporary I–551 stamp is 

a separate entry from the unexpired 

passport with Form I–94 indicating an 

employer-specific work-authorized 

nonimmigrant status. 

This updating of List A on the Form 

I–9 should help streamline the hiring 

process by providing employers with a 

better means of conforming their 

document acceptance practices with the 

requirements of the law. List A on the 

newly amended Form I–9 has been the 

regulatory List A since 1997, and, 

therefore, employers should not have 

been accepting documents not included 

in the regulatory list. 

Given the discrepancy between the 

Form I–9 and the regulations, however, 

the INS and, subsequently, the 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS) withheld enforcement of civil 

money penalties for violations 

associated with the changes made by the 

1997 interim rule as a temporary 

transitional measure. 62 FR at 51002. 

With an amended Form I–9 now 

available that includes the correct List 

A, that policy is no longer necessary. 

Therefore, DHS has determined that the 

non-enforcement policy will cease as of 

December 26, 2007. 

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B. Other Changes 

The amended Form I–9 now instructs 

employees that providing their Social 

Security number in Section 1 of the 

form is voluntary, pursuant to section 7 

of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a note). 

However, employees must provide their 

Social Security number in section 1 of 

the form if their employer participates 

in E-Verify (the employment eligibility 

verification program formerly known as 

Basic Pilot or EEV), as provided by 

section 403(a)(1)(A) of IIRIRA. 

Moreover, for employees who present 

their Social Security account number 

card to their employer as evidence that 

they are authorized to work in the 

United States, the employer must record 

the Social Security Account number in 

section 2 of the Form I–9. 

The amended Form I–9 also includes 

various nonsubstantive changes to the 

organization and content of the form 

instructions to be more consistent with 

standard USCIS branding practices, 

such as including a clarification that 

there is no filing fee associated with the 

Form I–9. 

III. Use of the Amended Form I–9 

As of November 7, 2007, the Form I–

9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N is the only version 

of the form that is valid for use. DHS 

recognizes that employers should be 

afforded a period of time to transition to 

the amended Form I–9. Therefore, DHS 

will not seek penalties against an 

employer for using a previous version of 

the Form I–9 on or before December 26, 

2007. After December 26, 2007, 

employers who fail to use Form I–9 

(Rev. 06/05/07)N may be subject to all 

applicable penalties under section 274A 

of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324a, as enforced 

by U.S. Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement (ICE). 

Note that employers do not need to 

complete the amended Form I–9 for 

current employees for whom there is 

already a properly completed Form I–9 

on file. Indeed, unnecessary verification 

may violate the INA’s antidiscrimination provision, section 274B 

of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324b, which is 

enforced by the U.S. Department of 

Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for 

Immigration Related Unfair 

Employment Practices. However, 

employers must use Form I–9 (Rev. 06/ 

05/07)N for any reverification of 

employment authorization conducted 

on or after December 26, 2007. 

Reverification is required when the 

Form I–9 indicates that the employee’s 

work authorization will expire. To 

reverify, employers must examine 

acceptable Form I–9 documents 

evidencing that the employee remains 

authorized to work. See 8 CFR 

274a.2(b)(1)(vii). 

IV. Obtaining Forms I–9 (Rev. 06/05/ 

07)N 

Employers may access the amended 

Form I–9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N online at 

http://www.uscis.gov. In addition, a 

newly revised ‘‘Handbook for 

Employers, Instructions for Completing 

the Form I–9, (M–274)’’ is available 

online at http://www.uscis.gov. Because 

of its length, the revised M–274 will not 

be reprinted in the Federal Register. To 

order USCIS forms, call our toll-free 

number at 1–800–870–3676. The public 

can get USCIS forms and information on 

immigration laws, regulations and 

procedures by telephoning our National 

Customer Service Center at 1–800–375–

5283. 

A Spanish-language version of the 

amended Form I–9 is available at 

http://www.uscis.gov for use in Puerto 

Rico only. The Spanish-language Form 

I–9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N is valid as of 

November 7, 2007. This updated 

Spanish-language version of the Form I–

9 supersedes all previous versions. 

Employers in Puerto Rico who continue 

to use previous editions of the Form I–

9 in English or Spanish after December 

26, 2007 may be subject to fines and 

penalties. 

Dated: November 16, 2007. 

Emilio T. Gonzalez, 

Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

Services. 

Note: The Form I–9 is provided as an 

attachment to this notice. 

BILLING CODE 4410–10–P 

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[FR Doc. 07–5790 Filed 11–20–07; 12:29 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4410–10–C 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Habitat Conservation Plan for 

Chevron’s North American Exploration 

and Production Unit in the Lokern Area 

of the Southern San Joaquin Valley, 

Kern County, CA 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) 

and notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we, 

the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 

advise the public that we intend to 

gather information necessary to prepare, 

in coordination with the California 

Department of Fish and Game (DFG), 

and Kern County, a joint Environmental 

Impact Statement/Environmental 

Impact Report (EIS/EIR) on the Chevron 

Lokern Habitat Conservation Plan 

(HCP). The HCP is being prepared under 

Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Federal 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended, (Act). Chevron intends to 

apply for a 50-year incidental take 

permit from the Service. The permit is 

needed to authorize the incidental take 

of threatened and endangered species 

that could result from oil and gas 

development and operation activities 

covered under the HCP. 

We provide this notice to: (1) Describe 

the proposed action and possible 

alternatives; (2) advise other Federal 

and State agencies, affected Tribes, and 

the public of our intent to prepare an 

EIS/EIR; (3) announce the initiation of a 

public scoping period; and (4) obtain 

suggestions and information on the 

scope of issues and alternatives to be 

included in the EIS/EIR. 

DATES: Submit written comments on or 

before December 26, 2007. One public 

meeting will be held on: Thursday, 

November 29, 2007, from 4 p.m. to 6 

p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be 

held at Kern County Public Services 

Building, Room 1A, 2700 M Street, 

Bakersfield, CA 93301. Submit written 

comments to Lori Rinek, Chief, 

Conservation Planning and Recovery 

Division, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 

2800 Cottage Way, W–2605, 

Sacramento, CA 95825. Comments may 

also be sent by facsimile to 916–414–

6713. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lori 

Rinek, Chief, Conservation Planning and 

Recovery Division, Sacramento Fish and 

Wildlife Office at (916) 414–6600. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Reasonable Accommodation 

Persons needing reasonable 

accommodations in order to attend and 

participate in the public meeting should 

contact Lori Rinek at (916) 414–6600 as 

soon as possible. In order to allow 

sufficient time to process requests, 

please call no later than one week before 

the public meeting. Information 

regarding this proposed action is 

available in alternative formats upon 

request. 

Background 

Section 9 of the Act and Federal 

regulations prohibit the ‘‘take’’ of 

wildlife species listed as endangered or 

threatened (16 U.S.C. 1538). The Act 

defines the term ‘‘take’’ as: To harass, 

harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, 

trap, capture or collect listed species, or 

to attempt to engage in such conduct (16 

U.S.C. 1532). Harm includes significant 

habitat modification or degradation that 

actually kills or injures listed wildlife 

by significantly impairing essential 

behavioral patterns, including breeding, 

feeding, and sheltering [50 CFR 17.3(c)]. 

Pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 

Act, we may issue permits to authorize 

‘‘incidental take’’ of listed species. 

‘‘Incidental take’’ is defined by the Act 

as take that is incidental to, and not the 

purpose of, carrying out an otherwise 

lawful activity. Regulations governing 

permits for threatened species and 

endangered species, respectively, are at 

50 CFR 17.32 and 50 CFR 17.22. 

Take of listed plant species is not 

prohibited under the Act and cannot be 

authorized under a section 10 permit. 

We propose to include plant species on 

the permit in recognition of the 

conservation benefits provided for them 

under a habitat conservation plan. All 

species included on the permit would 

receive assurances under the Service’s 

‘‘No Surprises’’ regulations found in 50 

CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5). 

Species proposed for coverage in the 

HCP are species that are currently listed 

as federally threatened or endangered or 

have the potential to become listed 

during the life of this HCP and have 

some likelihood to occur within the 

project area. Should any of these 

unlisted covered wildlife species 

become listed under the Act during the 

term of the permit, take authorization 

for those species would become 

effective upon listing. Six plant species 

and 11 animal species would be covered 

by the HCP. Species may be added or 

deleted during the course of the 

development of the HCP based on 

further analysis, new information, 

agency consultation, and public 

comment. Currently the following listed 

plant and animal species are included 

within the plan: Giant kangaroo rat 

(Dipodomys ingens), Tipton kangaroo 

rat (Dipodomys nitratoides nitratoides), 

blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia 

sila), San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes 

macrotis mutica), California jewelflower 

(Caulanthus californicus), Kern mallow 

(Eremalche kernensis), and San Joaquin 

woolly-threads (Monolopia congdonii). 

Unlisted species proposed as covered 

species are the following: San Joaquin 

antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus 

nelsoni), Western burrowing owl 

(Athene cunicularia hypugea), shortnosed kangaroo rat (Dipodomys 

nitratoides brevinasus), loggerhead 

shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), California 

horned lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum 

frontale), American badger (Taxidea 

taxus), Le Conte’s thrasher (Toxostoma 

lecontei), heartscale (Atriplex 

cordulata), Lost Hills crownscale 

(Atriplex vallicola), and Hoover’s 

woolly-star (Eriastrum hooveri). 

The HCP area includes both a permit 

area and credit area. The permit area 

consists of those lands where Chevron’s 

covered activities would occur. The 

permit area is subdivided into three 

subsections including (a) 13,333 acres of 

Chevron owned lands (Chevron Lokern 

Lands) in western Kern County; (b) 

239,207 acres encompassing and 

surrounding five active oil and gas 

fields (Five Fields—Buena Vista, 

Cymric-McKittrick, Kern River, Lost 

Hills, Midway Sunset) in central and 

western Kern County; and (c) 14,441 

acres adjacent to the Lokern area 

(Lokern Contiguous Area) in western 

Kern County. Chevron proposes to 

mitigate for impacts to covered species 

that occur on permit lands within the 

mitigation bank to be established on 

Chevron Lokern Lands. Additionally, 

Chevron proposes to sell unused 

mitigation credits to other parties for 

their separately approved projects 

within the credit area, which 

encompasses approximately 3,100 

square miles in central and western 

Kern County, as well as a small portion 

of southwestern Kings County. 

The HCP would result in take 

authorization for otherwise lawful 

actions, such as public and private 

development that may incidentally take 

or harm animal species or their habitats 

within the HCP area, and the formation 

and management of a conservation 

program for covered species. Activities 

that may be covered under the HCP 

within the permit area include: Oil and 

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