By John Fay
During the pandemic, employers meeting certain COVID-19 workplace related requirements were allowed to virtually review employees’ identity and employment authorization documents for Form I-9. However, with the federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 ending on May 11, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have announced they will be ending COVID-19 flexibilities for Form I-9 requirements as of July 31, 2023 with an additional 30 days for employers to complete their in person review of documents.¹ Meaning that you will have only until August 30, 2023 to conduct any necessary physical inspections of documents that were previously reviewed in a remote fashion.
This does not leave a lot of time for you to prepare a list of all employees whose documents were virtually examined, figure out which I-9s still need a physical inspection, and implement a plan to perform the document reviews.
Watch our video to learn more about the COVID virtual I-9 policy and the new timeline, review some of its unique requirements, and gain more insight on what you might need to do now before the government's mandated deadline.
For more information
Watch our on-demand webinar with I-9 subject matter expert, John Fay. In it, he discusses more about the implications of the end of COVID-19 flexibilities for Form I-9 physical inspection requirements:
Learn more about the new timeline for physical inspections of virtual verifications completed during the pandemic
Discover steps you can take now to help implement a plan for conducting physical inspections at your organization
Watch John answer other burning I-9 questions
¹ U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, May 2023
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About the Author
Job Title: Director of Product Strategy
John Fay is an attorney and technologist with a deep applied knowledge of business immigration, I-9, and E-Verify rules and procedures. During his 20-plus-year career, he has worked closely with corporations, educational institutions, and government agencies on a variety of U.S. immigration and I-9/E-Verify issues, often in connection with the use of software and case management technology. He is a frequent speaker on corporate immigration compliance, presenting at various employment and immigration conferences throughout the U.S. During the past decade, he has spoken in more than 300 live and virtual presentations on I-9 and E-Verify topics, often serving as the moderator. He is also a prolific writer on both I-9 and E-Verify, authoring more than 500 articles for human resources professionals and related associations.