Recently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its agencies announced important new policies on the verification of I-9 documentation for remote workers, including the sunset of the temporary Covid-19 (Covid) flexibility policies and a new remote I-9 verification option. This Update reviews the agency policy developments, addresses the pros and cons of the new optional remote I-9 verification option, and provides a number of best practices for companies to integrate the new optional process into their onboarding systems.

Summary

Beginning with the announcement of flexibility policies to accommodate employers whose workforces were suddenly working remotely due to the onset of the pandemic, DHS established a series of policies on the I-9 verification process:

• Temporary remote I-9 verification option during Covid national emergency: During the Covid pandemic, in recognition of the sudden and substantial shift to remote work in many U.S. employment sectors, DHS announced flexibilities for employers in the I-9 verification process. To address the inability of many employers to perform the required in-person verification of original documentation for new hires due to pandemic precautions, the Covid I-9 flexibilities temporarily provided employers with a virtual option to examine identity and work eligibility documents for the I-9 verification process. The Covid I-9 flexibilities policy was designed as temporary relief measure, where employers could use a virtual...

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