DHS Ends Flexibility for Expired List B Form I-9 Documents

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that beginning May  1, 2022 employers will no longer be able to accept expired List B documents. 

As part of the relief offered to employees and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic employees were afforded the flexibility to provide expired List B documents, in some instances, for use with their Form I-9. As COVID restrictions relax across the country and government agencies are able to provide new and updated documents, DHS will no longer allow employers to accept these expired documents.

What does this mean for employers and HR managing Form I-9?

• Starting May 1, 2022, employers must only accept unexpired List B documents. 

• If an employee presented an expired List B document between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, and is still employed, employers are required to update their Forms I-9 by July 31, 2022 unless the document was auto extended by the issuing authority.

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What about Forms I-9 completed with expired documents?

If the employee’s Form I-9 was completed between May 1, 2020 and April 30, 2022 with an expired List B document and that document expired on or after March 1, 2020, and the employee:

• Is still employed.

  • You can have the employee provide an unexpired document that establishes identity. Employees may present the renewed List B document, a different List B document or a document from List A. See additional Form I-9 completion instructions from DHS.

• The List B document was auto extended by the issuing authority, so it was unexpired when presented.

  • No action is required because the document was unexpired when presented.

• Is no longer employed.

  • No action is required.

Form I-9 rules and regulations can be confusing. You don’t have to go it alone. The I-9 Management service from Equifax Workforce Solutions can help you manage your Forms I-9 at each stage with an online I-9 service that can help completion of your Forms I-9 even easier. 

Want to see how well your company is ready to respond to an I-9 audit? Take our I-9 Audit Prep Assessment to see where you might stand. If you’re looking for some tips to make sure you are on the right track check out our HR Checklist for I-9 Enforcement to get started.