July 21, 2023
DHS Announces New Form I-9 Form and Remote Inspection Rules
On Friday, July 21st, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced, “employers that participate in E-Verify and are in good standing will have the option to conduct verification electronically and with a live video call interaction.”
On July 25th, DHS published two final notices. One rule authorizes the DHS Secretary to adopt alternative procedures for inspecting Form I-9 documents; the other rule lays out what employers should do, may do, must do, when and how to take advantage of the new alternative (remote) inspection rule. Highlights include:
- If you were a participant in good standing using E-Verify when you conducted a remote inspection of Form I-9 documents March 20, 2020, through July 31, 2023, you are not required to conduct an in-person inspection of the same document(s). Instead of an in-person inspection, you may use the new alternative procedure to reexamine those Form I-9 documents.
- Otherwise, you must complete by August 30th, an in-person inspection of all Form I-9 documents that you remotely inspected since March 20, 2020.
- If you become an E-Verify participant, you may use the alternative procedure (remote inspection) prospectively. E-Verify is a free service. You can learn more about E-Verify and register here.
- To learn more about this new rule and the alternative option, join this Wednesday’s webcast, “Documentation Issues for (HR) Managers” from 10:00 – 11:15 a.m. ET
DHS has also announced an updated Form I-9 will be published on August 1, 2023. The rule describes “myriad revisions to the form and its instructions” and informs employers they:
- Should begin using the new Form on August 1st
- May continue to use the current Form I-9 until October 31st
- Must begin using the new Form I-9 November 1st
For more detailed information, check out the July 26th webcast, “Documentation Issues for (HR) Managers.” Pre-approved by HRCI and SHRM for 1/25 credits. $25 pp
