05/15/20
Form I-9 Requirements Flexibility Extended for 30 Days
Latest 2020 I-9 Form Updates. 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, Employment Eligibility Verification, due to COVID-19.
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This temporary guidance was set to expire May 19. Because of ongoing precautions related to COVID-19, DHS has extended this policy for an additional 30 days.
This provision only applies to employers and workplaces that are operating remotely. See the original news release for more information on how to obtain, remotely inspect, and retain copies of the identity and employment eligibility documents to complete Section 2 of Form I-9.
Employers must monitor the DHS and ICE websites for additional updates about when the extensions end and normal operations resume.
E-Verify participants who meet the criteria and choose the remote inspection option should continue to follow current guidance and create cases for their new hires within three business days from the date of hire. Please see COVID-19 webpage for more information.
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05/13/20
Form I-9 Verification of Lawful Permanent Residents
2020 I-9 Form Updates. Employees, including those who attest to being lawful permanent residents (LPRs), may choose to present a List A document (evidence of identity and employment eligibility) or a combination of documents from List B (evidence of identity) and List C (evidence of employment eligibility) when completing Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
Employers may accept Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card issued to LPRs is an acceptable List A document. These cards may have:
- No expiration date and should not be reverified. These cards were issued from 1977 – August 1989.
- A 10-year expiration date and should not be reverified.
- A two-year expiration date and should not be reverified if the card unexpired when the employee completes their Form I-9.
Documents Requiring Reverification
LPRs and conditional permanent residents may be issued temporary I-551 documents. The following documents are acceptable for Form I-9:
- The combination of an expired Permanent Resident Card and a Form I-797, Notice of Action, that indicates the card’s validity has been extended. This is acceptable List C evidence of employment authorization. At the end of the extension period, you must reverify. The employee may present any List A or List C document for reverification.
- The arrival portion of Form I-94 or Form I-94A, Arrival/Departure Record, containing an unexpired temporary I-551 stamp and a photograph of the individual. This combination of documents is an acceptable List A receipt for the Permanent Resident Card. The employee must present their Permanent Resident Card to you no later than when the stamp expires, or one year after the issuance date of the Form I-94 if the stamp does not contain an expiration date.
- A foreign passport with either a temporary I-551 stamp or I-551 printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa (MRIV). Reverification is necessary when the stamp or MRIV expires, or one year after the admission date if the stamp or MRIV does not contain an expiration date.
- MRIVs are usually issued with the following language on the visa: “UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR.” The one-year time period begins on the date of admission. If, in the rare instance, an immigrant visa is issued without the statement “FOR 1 YEAR,” you should treat the MRIV as evidence of permanent residence status for one year from the date of admission.
- If the stamp in the passport is endorsed “CR-1” and is near but not on the immigrant visa, it is still a valid endorsement.
Employers may not demand a specific document when reverifying that an employee is authorized to work. Your employee may present any document either from List A or from List C of the Lists of Acceptable Documents to demonstrate that they are still authorized to work.
Employers are also reminded that they must treat employees in a non-discriminatory manner when recruiting, hiring, firing, and verifying their identity and authorization to work.
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Employees
If you feel that your employer did not hire you, treated you differently during the hiring or Form I-9 process, or terminated you because of your national origin, or immigration or citizenship status, call the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) at 1-800-255-7688 (Worker Hotline) or 1-800-237-2515 (TTY), or visit IER’s website.
You may also contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) if you feel you have been discriminated against in employment based on your race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity or any other prohibited basis. Call 1-800-669-4000 or 1-800-669-6820 (TTY), or visit the EEOC website.
05/1/20
COVID-19 Temporary Policy for List B Identity Documents
2020 I-9 Form Updates. Because many areas are under stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19 and some online renewal services have restrictions, employees may experience challenges renewing a state driver’s license, a state ID card, or other Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, List B identity document. Considering these circumstances, DHS is issuing a temporary policy regarding expired List B identity documents used to complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
Beginning on May 1, identity documents found in List B set to expire on or after March 1, 2020, and not otherwise extended by the issuing authority, may be treated the same as if the employee presented a valid receipt for an acceptable document for Form I-9 purposes.
When your employee provides an acceptable expired List B document that has not been extended by the issuing authority you should:
- Record the document information in Section 2 under List B, as applicable; and,
- Enter the word “COVID-19” in the Additional Information Field.
Within 90 days after DHS’s termination of this temporary policy, the employee will be required to present a valid unexpired document to replace the expired document presented when they were initially hired.
Note: It is best if the employee can present the replacement of the actual document that was expired, but if necessary, the employee may choose to present a different List A or List B document or documents and record the new document information in the Additional Information Field.
When the employee later presents an unexpired document, you should:
- In the Section 2 Additional Information field:
- Record the number and other required document information from the actual document presented;
- Initial and date the change.
Procedure for List B Documents extended by an Issuing Authority
If the employee’s List B identity document expired on or after March 1, 2020, and the issuing authority has extended the document expiration date due to COVID-19, the document is acceptable as a List B document for Form I-9 (not as a receipt) during the extension timeframe specified by the issuing authority.
When your employee provides an acceptable expired List B document that has been extended by the issuing authority you should:
- Enter the document’s expiration date in Section 2; and,
- Enter “COVID-19 EXT” in the Additional Information Field.
Employers may also attach a copy of a webpage or other notice indicating that the issuing authority has extended the documents. Employers can confirm that their state has auto-extended the expiration date of state IDs and driver’s licenses by checking the state Motor Vehicle Administration or Department of Motor Vehicles’ website.
Note: For extended documents, the employee is not required to later present a valid unexpired List B document.
E-Verify participating employers should use the employee’s expired List B document number from Section 2 of the Form I-9 to create an E-Verify case as usual within three days of the date of hire.
DHS continues to monitor the ongoing COVID-19 national emergency and will provide updated guidance as needed.
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04/28/20
Revised M-274, Handbook for Employers is Now Available
2020 I-9 Form Updates. USCIS released a revised M-274, Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9, with expanded information on properly completing Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
Revisions include updates based on the recent Form I-9 release, as well as policy changes and clarifications.
Reference : https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/whats-new
