As the pandemic descended in March 2020, restricting millions of employees to their homes, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) suspended the in-person verification requirement for I-9 supporting documents, permitting remote methods – e.g., email, fax, and video platforms – to show proof of citizenship or other OK-to-work status.
Employers remotely verifying were to place “COVID-19” on section 2 of the form and to confirm the documents in person on resumption of normal operations, with a further “documents physically examined” notation on that form.
Such remote verification flexibility is ending on July 31, 2023. Employers will again need to verify in person all I-9 supporting documents.
Employers will also have until August 30th to physically verify the forms previously confirmed remotely.
The Department of Homeland Security is considering a rule adopting alternate procedures for I-9 document reviews that could go into effect later this year. Stay tuned for more developments.
Take-Aways:
Employers must ensure they are verifying in person all I-9 supporting documents after July 31, 2023 and, by August 30th, update all remotely provided I-9 forms with in-person verification.
