I-9 Compliance Deadline August 30, 2023! (June 20, 2023)

In March 2020, in response to COVID, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would allow flexibility for employers to utilize remote options for completion of the I-9 employment eligibility verification process under section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Employers were permitted to inspect the relevant I-9 documents remotely and enter “COVID19” as the reason for the delay in the physical examination. Over the course of the next two years, DHS and ICE issued various extensions and guidelines regarding the I-9 compliance flexibility
and in October of 2022, these agencies announced that the flexibilities would sunset on July 31, 2023.

With these temporary flexibilities ending July 31, 2023, DHS and ICE recently announced that employers must perform and complete all required in-person physical examination of the identity and employment eligibility documents for those employees who were hired after March 20, 2020 and whose documents were only inspected remotely. This process must be completed by August 30, 2023.

So, what if the employer has not returned to the office? Must the employer still conduct the inperson inspection? According to USCIS.gov, the answer is “Yes. ICE has announced that employers have until August 30, 2023, to complete any remaining physical inspections for those employees who were hired on or after March 20, 2020, and for whom the employer has, to date, only conducted a remote inspection consistent with the flexibilities first announced in March 2020. This allows employers additional time after the temporary flexibilities end on July 31, 2023 to complete in-person physical document inspections for these employees.”