May 10, 2020 – As businesses begin to re-open and re-hire, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has recently made some announcements regarding relaxed document requirements for the Form I-9 considering continued COVID-19 challenges.

Relaxed I-9 Document Review Requirements Extended for Thirty Additional Days

The DHS announced that it would extend for 30 days its revised requirements for reviewing documents presented in the Form I-9 process to accommodate employers whose HR departments are working remotely. These requirements are now in place through June 18, 2020. The revised requirements allow the Form I-9 document review to temporarily be done remotely.  Details on these relaxed requirements can be found in an earlier Kullman Firm Newsletter using the following link:

https://kullmanlaw.com/immigration-temporarily-revises-form-i-9-document-review/

DHS Temporarily Allows Acceptance of  Expired List “B” Documents

             Immigration has issued the following temporary policy regarding accepting an expired List “B” document after May 1, 2020, while State Department of Motor Vehicle Offices and other issuing offices are closed due to COVID-19:

List “B” Document Expired on or After March 1, 2020

and Not Automatically Extended

•  Identity documents in List “B” which expired on or after March 1, 2020, and have not been extended, may be treated as if the employee presented a valid receipt for an acceptable document for Form I-9 purposes. Record the document as a List “B” document and write “COVID-19” in the “Additional Information” box in Section 2.
• The Form I-9 should be calendared, and the new employee will have to present an unexpired List “B” document within 90 days from the termination of Immigration’s temporary policy.
• When the new unexpired List “B” document is produced by the employee, record the updated information in the “Additional Information” box in Section 2 and initial and date that update.

List “B” Document Automatically Extended by

Issuing Authority

• If the List “B” document presented has been automatically extended by the issuing authority, then record the information in Section 2 as usual and write “COVID-19 EXT” in the “Additional Information” box in Section 2.
• As a best practice, it is advised to print out the page from the issuing authority’s webpage which indicates that it has automatically extended the List “B” document which was presented and attach it to the original Form I-9.
• For List “B” documents which have been auto-extended, the employee does not need to provide an updated document in the future.

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Because legal developments pertaining to COVID-19 are constantly evolving, we recommend that our clients call the Kullman Firm attorney(s) with whom they work for the most current guidance on these matters.