DHS Extends I-9 Flexibility Guidance Another Four Months
On December 15, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a further extension of the flexibilities on Form I-9 compliance requirements that was initially granted last year. The guidance, which was slated to expire on December 31, 2021, has been extended through April 30, 2022.
The guidance will continue to allow for remote inspection of Form I-9 documents in situations where employees work exclusively in a remote setting due to COVID-19-related precautions. For employees who physically report to work at a company location on any regular, consistent or predictable basis, employers are required to use standard I-9 procedures.
Earlier this week, CUPA-HR and 11 other higher education associations sent a letter to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur Jaddou asking for this additional extension in light of the uncertainty posed by the Omicron variant and encouraging DHS to announce the extension on or before December 17, 2021.
CUPA-HR is grateful for DHS’s swift response and will be submitting comments in response to DHS’s Request for Public Input on document examination practices for Form I-9.
