On July 21, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced three important changes to the I-9 verification process (Book Law’s previous blog post regarding the end of the COVID-19 flexibilities is here). All three will take effect on August 1, 2023.
1. USCIS will publish a revised version of its Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Employers may use the current Form I-9 (edition date 10/21/19) until October 31, 2023. Employers may start using the new Form I-9 as of August 1, 2023, and must use the new form as of November 1, 2023.
2. Only employers who are participants in good standing in E-Verify may choose to remotely examine their employees’ identity and employment authorization documents using a new alternative procedure; all others must physically examine such documentation. Guidelines to the new alternative procedure will be officially published on July 25, 2023, and meanwhile are available here: https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-15533.pdf. For background, E-Verify is an official government website through which employers can electronically confirm that their employees are authorized to work in the United States.
3. Employers who were enrolled in E-Verify when they used the COVID-19 flexibilities (in effect from March 20, 2020, through July 31, 2023) to remotely examine their employees’ documents may use the new procedures as of August 1, 2023. Employers who were not enrolled in E-Verify when they used the COVID-19 flexibilities to remotely examine their employees’ documents must complete an in-person physical examination of those documents by August 30, 2023.
The published Rule can be found here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/07/25/2023-15533/optional-alternative-1-to-the-physical-document-examination-associated-with-employment-eligibility#citation-20-p47753that
If you have questions or concerns about this law or any federal or New York State employment or discrimination laws, please contact Chaim Book at cbook@booklawllp.com, Sheryl Galler at SGaller@booklawllp.com, or Nadav Zamir at NZamir@booklawllp.com.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog post is for general knowledge purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. For specific guidance tailored to your situation, it is advisable to consult with a qualified employment law professional.
