The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a temporary policy regarding expired documents used for Form I-9 purposes. The Form I-9 is used to verify a new hire's identity and work authorization.
Background:
To complete Section 2 of the I-9, employees must present unexpired documents that verify their identity and employment authorization. The I-9 Form includes a List of Acceptable Documents (List A, List B, and List C). An employee must present one document from List A or one document from List B and one document from List C.
- List A documents: establish both identity and employment authorization
- List B documents: establish identity only
- List C documents: establish employment authorization only
Temporary Policy:
On May 1, 2020, the DHS issued a temporary policy to address the challenges individuals may experience when renewing a state driver's license, a state ID card, or other List B identity document due to the restrictions put in place for COVID-19.
Documents set to expire without extensions from issuing authority:
Beginning May 1, 2020, identity documents found in List B set to expire on or after March 1, 2020, and not otherwise extended by the issuing authority (such as the state DMV), may be treated the same as if the employee presented a valid receipt for an acceptable document.
In such cases, the employer should:
- Record the document information in Section 2 under List B, as applicable; and
- Enter the word "COVID-19" in the Additional Information Field.
Note: If the List B document expired before March 1, 2020, the temporary policy won't apply, and the employer won't be able to accept it.
Within 90 days after the DHS's termination of this temporary policy, the employee must present a valid unexpired document to replace the expired document presented when they were initially hired. If necessary, the employee may choose to present a different List A or List B document(s) and you would then record the new document information in the additional Information field.
When the employee later presents an unexpired document, in the Section 2 Additional information field you should:
- Record the number and other required document information from the actual document presented; and
- Initial and date the change.
Documents set to expire with extensions from 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 (and is not considered a receipt) during the extension timeframe specified by the issuing authority. Note: If the List B document expired before March 1, 2020, the temporary policy won't apply, and the employer won't be able to accept it.
In such cases, employers 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 document expiration, such as the state DMV website. For extended documents, the employee isn't required to later present a valid unexpired document to verify identity.
E-Verify:
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.
Compliance Recommendations:
When new hires present documents covered by the temporary policy, employers should follow the applicable procedures above. At this time, the DHS hasn't relaxed current I-9 standards related to expiring employment authorization documents. Please contact your dedicated service professional with any questions.