COVID-19:
Form I-9 Physical Document Review Flexibility
On March 20, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) announced flexibility in complying with requirements related to Form I-9,
due to COVID-19. These provisions have been extended through November 19, 2020.
Applies only to employers and workplaces that are operating remotely and employers
must provide written documentation of their remote onboarding and telework policy
for each employee. This burden rests solely with the employers.
Employers must inspect the Section 2 documents remotely and obtain, inspect, and
retain copies of the documents, within three business days of the employee’s start date.
Enter “Remote Inspection completed on MM/DD/YYYY” in the Section 2 Additional
Information field.
Within 3 business days of resuming normal operations, physically inspect documents
with the employee present.
Write “COVID-19 - Documents physically examined on MM/DD/YYYY” as well as the
initials of the person who performed the physical inspection to the Section 2 Additional
Information field on the Form I-9, or to section 3 as appropriate.
See Form I-9 completion examples and the ICE news release for additional information.
Form I-9 Overview 16