Immigration and Customs Enforcement Extends I-9 Compliance Flexibility to July 31, 2023

On October 11, 2022, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced an extension of Form I-9 flexibilities first announced in March 2020 and updated in March 2021.
Due to the continued safety precautions related to COVID-19, Form I-9 flexibilities will be extended until July 31, 2023.

The current I-9 flexibilities state that if an employee is hired on or after April 1, 2021 and works exclusively in a remote setting due to COVID-19-related precautions then they are temporarily exempt from the physical inspection requirements associated with the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) under Section 274A of the INA until they undertake non-remote employment on a regular, consistent, or predictable basis, or the extension of the flexibilities related to such requirements is terminated, whichever is earlier. Employers with employees taking physical proximity precautions due to COVID-19 will not be required to review the employee’s identity and employment authorization documents in the employee’s physical presence. However, employers must inspect the Section 2 documents remotely and obtain, inspect, and retain copies of the documents, within three business days for purposes of completing Section 2. For more information, please see the March 2020 and updated 2021 guidance.