I-9 Compliance Flexibility Further Extended to April 30, 2022

December 20, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security has announced another extension of flexibility for Form I-9 and E-Verify compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy has now been extended through April 30, 2022; the extension of time is the only change to the policy. AILA (the American Immigration Lawyers Association) and partners had sent a letter to DHS the week prior recommending a longer window for the extension.

We recommend that employers who have been inspecting documents virtually during the pandemic get started now on “perfecting the I-9s” — the required second step — which entails examining documents in person and updating the Form I-9 accordingly. For additional guidance on perfecting the I-9s, as well as guidance on adopting the authorized representative model, see our May 2021 website posting here.

DHS says that, going forward, it will “continue to monitor the ongoing national emergency and provide updated guidance as needed. Employers are required to monitor the DHS and ICE websites for additional updates regarding when the extensions will be terminated, and normal operations will resume.” A detailed breakdown of the temporary flexibilities can be found in our website posting from March 2020. All of the USCIS’ temporary I-9 and E-Verify policies related to COVID-19 are gathered here, including a Q&A.