From ‘noncitizen’ to ‘alien’: Trump reverses Biden’s immigrant-friendly shift in in Form I-9. Here are other changes

In a reversal of recent language reforms, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has reintroduced the term “alien” in the latest version of Form I-9, the mandatory Employment Eligibility Verification document used by all American employers.

This move, under the Trump administration, rolls back a Biden-era change that had swapped out “alien” for the more inclusive “noncitizen” in 2023. The revised form now instructs foreign workers to identify themselves as “aliens authorized to work” — a shift that’s already raising eyebrows across the immigration and legal communities.

The Biden administration’s 2023 update to Form I-9 aimed to retire the term “alien” from federal immigration documents, reflecting a broader push for inclusive language. That effort has now been undone, with the Trump administration reinstating “alien” and removing “noncitizen” from the employment verification form.

Form I-9 is required for every individual hired in the United States, whether a US citizen or foreign national. It verifies the identity and employment eligibility of new hires, and must be filled out by both the employee and the employer (or an authorized representative).

To complete the form, employees must provide documents proving both their identity and authorisation to work in the US Employers must then review and record these documents, ensuring they appear genuine and pertain to the individual.

Foreign employees should take note of this key terminology change in their verification process, along with other updates to the form. The revised Form I-9 now bears the edition date of 01/20/25 and is valid until 05/31/2027. However, previous editions remain usable:

- Form I-9 (08/01/23 edition) is valid through 05/31/2027  
- Form I-9 (08/01/23 edition) is also valid through 07/31/2026, provided employers update their systems to reflect the correct expiration date by July 31, 2026

Among the changes:
- The fourth checkbox in Section 1 now reads: “An alien authorized to work”
- Descriptions for two List B documents have been updated in the Lists of Acceptable Documents
- Statutory language and the DHS Privacy Notice have been revised accordingly

Starting April 3, these updates are also reflected in the E-Verify and E-Verify+ systems. The Citizenship Status field during case creation now displays “An alien authorized to work” in line with the statutory language.