On October 11, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), citing continued safety precautions related to COVID-19, extended through July 2023 the flexibility rule for the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, which has been in place since March 2020.

Employers are required to inspect employees I-9 identify and corresponding eligibility documentation in-person for those employees who “who physically report to work at a company location on any regular, consistent, or predictable basis.”  Those employers are required to examine physically the identification documents of each employee when completing Section 2 of the Form I-9.

But, if an employee is working exclusively in a remote setting due to COVID-19 precautions, then that employee’s documents  are temporarily exempt from the traditional physical inspection requirements, “until they undertake non-remote employment on a regular, consistent, or predictable basis, or the extension of the flexibilities related to such requirements is terminated, whichever is earlier.”

Read more about the remote Form I-9 Verification process here.

Employers should ensure that human resource personnel are trained in Form I-9 compliance and continue to monitor additional DHS Form I-9 guidance. The DHS notice of extension and the prior guidance from DHS are available at the ICE website.  Ballard Spahr regularly advises our clients on compliance with I-9, e-verify and other employment eligibility requirements.

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