DHS Extends I-9 Form flexibility until Aug 31, 2021

We track the I-9 Form verification flexibility by US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in this article, which is due to the COVID-19 pandemic and not able to meet employees in person. We review the background, who it applies to and we continue to update this article.

Firstly, let’s look at the background and requirements for I-9 compliance requirements.

What is I-9 Compliance Requirement? Paperwork Verification ?

As per law, an employer who hires anyone in US is required to complete I-9 Form (Employment Eligibility Verification). The goal of this is to verify employee’s identity and work authorization. It is to prevent illegal or undocumented workers.  The I-9 form requires that employee verify a set of documents that are related to identity, visa status and work authorization.

They are called as List A, List B and List C in the I-9 form and employer will check for these documents.  See below screenshot for these required documents list. If you look at the highlighted text, you can see EAD card requirement that typically applies to H4, L2, F1 OPT & STEM OPT, others.

Physical Presence requirement for I-9 Completion, Verification

As per Section 274A of INA, there are physical presence requirements to complete I-9 form and verify the documents presented. Basically, what it means is that you need to be physically present and and complete the form, and verify the documents in person.

Usually, Employees fill out Section 1 of form I-9 and sign the form. Employer then verifies documents and completes section 2 of the form. All of the verifications and Form I-9 paperwork requirements should happen in the first 3 days of starting the job and should be in person.

Now that we know the background, let’s look at the first topic update from DHS.

DHS / ICE – Compliance Flexibility for Form I-9 during COVID-19

Due to COVID-19 situation, many offices are not open and most of the work is happening remotely. Hence, the physical presence requirement cannot be met during COVD-19. To address this, initially, DHS announced flexibility on March 20^th for I-9 compliance saying that employers need not verify the documents physically in presence of employee.  

USCIS suggested that the I-9 related document verification can be done remotely over video link, fax or email.  They gave guidance to enter “COVID-19” in the I-9 form as reason. Also, once employees resume work at physical offices, they need to verify the documents within 3 days and they update I-9 form saying “documents physically examined”. This flexibility is an important measure during COVID-19 situation for employers to employ workers, safeguard employees from risk of getting COVID-19, and also be compliant.

 As per latest update On May 26th, 2021, DHS is extending the I-9 Compliance Flexibility until August 31st, 2021. See below press release history for official news releases.

ICE I-9 Compliance Flexibility Latest News Updates

• ICE website – May26th, 2021 : ICE Extends Flexibility on I-9 Compliance until Aug 31st, 2021
• USCIS website – May 27th, 2021 : DHS Extends I-9 Requirement Flexibility

Who does this I-9 compliance flexibility apply to?

This I-9 compliance flexibility applies to everyone who are filling form I-9. It applies to visa holders who have work authorization like H1B, L1, H4 EAD, L2 EAD or F1 students on OPT, STEM OPT, including US Citizens.

What do you think of the flexibility by DHS for I-9 compliance? Share your thoughts in comments below.