Form I-9 Remote Verification Open to E-Verify Employers

By Benjamin A. Nucci

Effective August 1, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will grant certain employers the ability to remotely inspect work authorization documents for the Form I-9. USCIS made the announcement as it gets ready to publish a new version of the Form I-9 on August 1, 2023 (Edition: 08/01/2023). 

Specifically, the Form will contain a checkbox that allows E-Verify employers “in good standing” to remotely examine work authorization documents in accordance with a new procedure outlined in the Federal Register. Importantly, those E-Verify employers that used the COVID-19 flexibilities to remotely verify documents will be able to take advantage of the new procedure to bypass the need for physical inspection of documents by August 30. 

The high points: 

• The alternative procedure is open to employers who are participants in “good standing” in E-Verify.
• Qualified employers using the alternative procedure must do so consistently for all employees at that site.
• Qualified employers may choose to offer the alternative procedure to remote hires only and still retain the ability to conduct physical inspections for onsite hires. 
• Those qualified employers who were enrolled in E-Verify during the COVID-19 temporary flexibilities AND created an E-Verify case for an employee (except for reverification) whose documents were inspected remotely CAN use the alternative procedure to satisfy the requirement to physically examine documentation by August 30. 

To use the alternative procedure, a qualified employer must:

1. Examine copies (front and back, if the document is two-sided) of Form I-9 documents or an acceptable receipt to ensure that the documentation presented reasonably appears to be genuine.
2. Conduct a live video interaction with the individual presenting the document(s) to ensure that the documentation reasonably appears to be genuine and related to the individual. The employee must first transmit a copy of the document(s) to the employer (per Step 1 above) and then present the same document(s) during the live video interaction.
3. Indicate on the Form I-9, by completing the corresponding box, that an alternative procedure was used to examine documentation to complete Section 2 or for reverification, as applicable.
4. Retain, consistent with applicable regulations, a clear and legible copy of the documentation (front and back if the documentation is two-sided).
5. In the event of a Form I-9 audit or investigation by a relevant federal government official, make available clear and legible copies of the identity and employment authorization documentation presented by the employee for document examination in connection with the employment eligibility verification process.

A copy of USCIS's announcement due to be published in the Federal Register, along with FAQs, can be found here.