DHS announces continued flexibility in requirements related to Form I-9 compliance

On April 1, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an extension to the agency’s March 20, 2020 announcement regarding flexibilities in I-9 form completion while employees are operating with COVID-19 precautions in place. These flexibilities, which were set to expire on March 31, 2021, have now been extended through May 30, 2021.  According to these announcements, employees are currently only required to physically inspect Form I-9 identity and employment verification documents in person for employees who are working on site on a “…regular, consistent, or predicable basis.”  Employees who are working completely remotely due to COVID-19 policies are temporarily exempt from the physical inspection requirements for their I-9 forms under 274A of the INA until they return to working on-site “on a regular, consistent, or predictable basis”, or the DHS flexibilities are terminated, whichever comes first.   

Employers may perform in-person inspection of employees’ I-9 documents, “in their discretion” for employees hired on or after DHS’s March 20, 2020 announcement and provided their identification documents “for remote inspection” based on the March 20, 2020 announcement’s guidance.  

Further guidance from DHS regarding the completion of I-9 Forms and these flexibilities will be announced as DHS and other agencies monitor the ongoing national emergency.