COVID-19 temporary flexibilities for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, will end on July 31, 2023. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that employers must complete in-person physical inspection of identity and employment authorization documents for employees whose documents were inspected remotely (or virtually) during the temporary COVID-19 flexibilities program (from March 20, 2020-July 31, 2023)  by August 30, 2023. Also, employers need to annotate the Form I-9 for this population. Note, this will take significant action to update and/or correct your Form I-9 by the deadline. Failure to complete these actions could result in significant monetary and other penalties.

Additionally, there currently is not a “fix” for remote employees. Stay tuned for results from the DHS’s pilot program that incorporated virtual (or remote) inspection of I-9 documents.

Click here for the Expanded Best Practices Checklist.

Keep watching for the release of a new version of the Form I-9, release date currently unknown. 

See USCIS’s I-9 Central Questions and Answers for more information. However,, scores of potential questions could emerge based on your unique circumstances, feel free to reach out to us for guidance.

If you have questions about the details of this, please reach out to us here for clarification.