In May 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that the Form I-9 COVID-19 flexibility policy will end on July 31, 2023.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, in March 2020, DHS and ICE announced the COVID-19 I-9 flexibility policy. This policy has allowed employers to virtually inspect their employee’s Section 2, I-9 documents and complete Section 2 of the I-9 form. DHS and ICE have extended this policy multiple times.

With this COVID-19 flexibility policy coming to an end, Converge HR Solutions is now encouraging all employers who have been using these temporary flexibilities to plan to ensure that all required physical inspection of identity and employment eligibility documents is completed by the August 30, 2023, deadline. This applies to employees hired on or after March 20, 2020, who have received a virtual or remote examination under the flexibilities policy.

Important Dates to Remember:

• July 31, 2023 – Virtual I-9 document inspections and virtual completion of Section 2 of the I-9 form flexible policy ends.
  • What this means – Beginning August 1, 2023, ALL I-9 forms and document inspections must be completed physically and in person.

• August 30, 2023 – All I-9 forms completed virtually and documents that were inspected virtually, must be re-certified in person and documented on Section 2 of the I-9 form.
  • What this means – Any employee hired from March 2020 until July 31, 2023 (and beyond), must have their I-9 form and documents inspected in person and notated on their I-9 form, as a procedure of re-certification.

Converge HR Solutions encourages you to begin putting a plan into action to take the necessary steps to comply with the new I-9 policy. If you need assistance with I-9 compliance, contact Converge today to talk with us about the options we have available to help you with this! This is an evolving situation and if regulations and policy change or are updated, Converge will communicate these changes with you to help you stay ahead of the curve and compliant.