U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will publish a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, on August 1, 2023. Notably, the new version will allow employers enrolled in E-Verify to remotely examine employees’ section 2 documentation, as an alternative to the requirement to physically examine such documents in-person.

To use this remote examination procedure, employers must: 

  1. be enrolled in E-Verify, 
  2. examine and retain copies of all documents,
  3. conduct a live video interaction with the employee, and
  4. create an E-Verify case if the employee is a new hire.

Other new features of the revised Form I-9 include that it will:

  • Condense Sections 1 and 2 to a single-sided sheet;
  • Function as a fillable form on tablets and mobile devices;
  • Move Section 1 Preparer/Translator Certification to a separate, standalone supplement;
  • Move Section 3, Reverification and Rehire, to a standalone supplement; 
  • Revise the List of Acceptable Documents page to include some acceptable receipts as well as guidance and links to information on automatic extensions of employment authorization documentation; and
  • Shorten the Form I-9 instructions.

DHS previously announced that COVID-19 temporary flexibilities for Form I-9 would end on July 31, 2023, and that employers would have until August 30, 2023, to reach compliance with the Form I-9 requirements. This meant that employers who only conducted a remote inspection of Form I-9 documents for employees hired between March 20, 2020, and July 31, 2023, would have to complete in-person physical inspection of such documents, and annotate the Form I-9s, by August 30, 2023. 

Now, employers who participate in E-Verify and are in good standing, and created a case for employees whose documents were examined using the COVID-19 flexibilities, can instead use the remote inspection procedure starting on August 1, 2023, to satisfy the document examination requirement by August 30, 2023. 

Employers who were not enrolled in E-Verify during the COVID-19 flexibilities must still complete an in-person physical examination by August 30, 2023.

For further information, please contact:

Lauren Hopwood
Partner
203.784.3104
lhopwood@carmodylaw.com

Johanna Bachmair
Associate
203.784.3183
jbachmair@carmodylaw.com

Or get in touch with any member of the Carmody Immigration team or Labor & Employment team.

This information is for educational purposes only to provide general information and a general understanding of the law. It does not constitute legal advice and does not establish any attorney-client relationship.