COVID-19: Deferred Physical Inspection Guide

Overview:

On May 4, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the official sunset date for COVID-19 related Form I-9 physical document inspection flexibilities. As of July 31, 2023, and going forward, employers must physically inspect all employee work authorization and identification documents presented for the Form I-9 process. Prior to July 31, 2023, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and physical proximity precautions, under certain circumstances, employers could choose to inspect documents “virtually”, provided the employer physically inspected the documents at a later date.

That later date is now known. ICE advised that employers have 30 days after the temporary rule expires, or until August 30, 2023, to complete an in-person verification of all employee documents that were virtually verified since March 2020.

It’s important to note that employers do not need to wait until July 31, 2023, to start physically inspecting employee documents that were initially reviewed virtually. In fact, employers are encouraged to start the physical document inspection as soon as possible to meet the August 30, 2023, deadline.

This guide provides instructions and best practices for how to approach the physical impaction requirements, including the following topics:

Background: What were the virtual document inspection rules and how did we get here?

Planning Stage: How should I prepare my team, employees, and the organization for what’s ahead?
Execution Stage: We are ready to get to work. How should I update the I-9s in the Tracker I-9 system?
Appendices: a set of appendices for reference.

IMPORTANT NOTE: While the government’s May 4th announcement lays out clear expectations and guidelines, it is possible that DHS and/or ICE could come forward with new or different information that impacts employers and this process. Mitratech will continue to monitor the situation and make every effort to keep this guide up to date.

Background

In March 2020, ICE issued a press release stating that, in light of the COVID-19 national emergency, employers could temporarily defer physical inspection of documents related to the Form I-9 process. The new temporary rule permitted employers to virtually verify employees’ documents via video, fax, email, etc. This rule was extended repeatedly, sometimes updating the guidelines at the same time.

Initially, the ICE guidance mandated that the business be completely shut down to benefit from this flexibility and that all employees verified this way would need to physically present their documents in-person for inspection “once normal operations resume.” A year later, on March 31, 2021, ICE relaxed the requirement relating to the operational status of the employer, and instead, focused on the employee, allowing for remote inspections to continue where employees were working from home due to COVID-19.

ICE updated their instructions to replace the phrase “once normal operations resume” with “until [the employee] undertakes non-remote employment on a regular, consistent, or predictable basis, or the extension of the flexibilities related to such requirements is terminated, whichever is earlier.”

While ICE needed to be more precise with employers, it’s important to note that their guidance never applied to permanent remote employees. Fully remote employees, who were allowed to work from anywhere without expecting to return to an in-person setting, were never offered the COVID virtual document inspection flexibility. However, understandably, many employers misapplied the applicability standards and incorrectly allowed for remote document inspection.

And now we have arrived here, three years later. Employers will have until August 30, 2023, to complete a physical examination of documentation and update all Forms I-9 for employees that have yet to complete an in-person inspection.

Planning Phase

Here’s a list of topics to consider when planning how to approach physical document inspection and the work ahead.

Identify all Forms I-9 requiring updates. Again, no later than August 30, 2023, employers must physically inspect the employee documents that were virtually verified due to COVID 19. How you do this depends upon how your organization coded COVID 19 impacted I-9s. Hopefully, you’ve been tracking your completed COVID I-9s from the start. See "COVID-19: Flagging and Reporting on Remote Inspection I-9s" for how to run a custom report to pull text from the Section 2 Additional Information text box to help identify impacted I-9s provided your organization followed the ICE and Tracker I-9 best practices.
- To clarify, this is only applicable to Form I-9 records whose documents were examined virtually. It does not apply to I-9s where documents were physically examined by a third party, such as through the Remote Employer Appoint, Employee Appoint, or Network Alliance Tracker I-9 features.
Create a project plan. The plan should ensure that your employee population is notified and provided background on what is required, the requisite timing for compliance, and the repercussions for not cooperating. The project plan should also outline how updates will be tracked in the Tracker I-9 system (see our recommendations below), but also consider if you have any impacted Form I-9s outside of the Tracker I-9 solution.
Decide if your physical inspection will occur at the worksite (requiring folks still working from home to come in), or if you will use an Authorized Representative model (or hybrid offering). More on this below.
Prepare training materials and train your team on how to conduct physical inspections. Ensure they are aware of the nuanced rules, provide samples and guidance to your teams, or authorized representatives, describing how to physically update the Forms – see below for more information.
Follow the Rules. Allow employees to present their choice of identity and work authorization document(s) when updating Forms I-9. They do not need to present the same document(s).
Execute the game plan.
Check on E-Verify. When updating an I-9, check to ensure that E-Verify cases were run and correctly closed, where applicable.
Document your process. In addition to documenting your project plan, ensure that you have the required “written documentation” outlining your “remote onboarding and telework policy for each employee” required by ICE in the original March 20, 2020 announcement.

Determine Who Will Update the Form I-9

Tracker I-9 customers impacted by the end of the temporary virtual document inspection policy must decide if the physical document inspection will:

Occur onsite at the worksite (requiring folks still working remotely to come in); or
If you will use a remote Authorized Representative.

Of course, a hybrid approach is completely acceptable.

On-Site Verification

For on-site verifications, the I-9 Manager should meet with the employee, login to the Tracker I-9 system, navigate to the I-9 requiring physical document verification, physically inspect the employee document, and follow the steps described in the section below titled How to Update the Form I-9 in the Tracker System.

Remote Verifications

If you plan on using a remote Authorized Representative, the most common approach is to leverage the Remote Section 2 Amendment process. The section titled Using a Third Party for Deferred Physical Document Inspections details the step to take for this use case. If you cannot use the Remote Section 2 Amendment workflow, then consider the other options described in the Remote Document Verification Appendix.

Execution Phase

Once you have a plan in place and know who will make the updates for a Form I-9, follow the guidelines below to understand what needs to change on the Form I-9.

How to Update the Form I-9 in the Tracker System

Once you have a project plan in place, know which I-9s require physical document inspection, and know who will make the updates to the Form I-9, it’s time to understand how to update the I-9 in the Tracker system and train your team.

How you update your Forms I-9 depends on three factors:

If the employee is still employed with your organization,
Whether the employee presents the same document(s) that were presented virtually, and
If the individual inspecting the physical documents is the same person who inspected the document(s) virtually.

The chart below describes the three scenarios and summarizes the required action.

If the employee:		Then:
Scenario 1	Presents the same documentation	Action Required Update the Section 2 Additional Information textbox by following the detailed instructions described in Scenario 1 below
Scenario 2	Presents different documentation	Action Required Use the Reset feature to identify the new document(s) Enter the new document data Update the Section 2 Additional Information textbox by following the detailed instructions described in Scenario 2 below
Scenario 3	Is no longer employed	Action Required Update the Section 2 Additional Information textbox by following the detailed instructions described in Scenario 3 below

Scenario 1: Employee Presents the Same Documents

According to USCIS guidelines, employees have their choice of documents to present for physical inspection updates. Employees must be given the option to present the documentation they originally presented for virtual inspection, or new documentation.

If the employee presents the same documents that were presented virtually, the individual inspecting the physical documents should update the Section 2 Additional Information field per the instructions in the section titled Update the Section 2 Additional Information Textbox below.

Scenario 1 Tips:

Other than updating the Section 2 Additional Information text box, there’s no need to update any other document data. However, if you notice a data entry error, consider fixing the error as a best practice.
The employee’s original documentation may have expired. That’s okay as long as the employee’s documents were unexpired at the time of remote inspection.
Follow these instructions if the virtually inspected documents were presented for the completion of Section 2 or Section 3.
Also, follow these instructions if the employee’s I-9 was created as a New Form I-9 or as a Historical I-9 record. A New Form I-9 is an I9 record initially created in the Tracker I-9 system. A Historical I-9 is an I-9 record initially created outside of the Tracker I-9 system (e.g., completed on paper, or in a different electronic I-9 system) that was imported into the Tracker I-9 system.

Scenario 2: Employee Presents Different Documents for a New Form I-9

In the event an employee presents documentation that is different than the documentation presented for their remote verification, take the following steps in the Tracker I-9 system for updating a New Form I-9:

Navigate to Section 2 or Section 3, depending upon which section needs updating
Select the Reset button
The Tracker system will display the Document Selector. Select the List A document type, or List B and List C document type based upon the documentation provided by the employee and click Continue with Selected Document(s) button
Enter the required document data
Upload images of the document(s) if it’s your organization’s policy to retain images of all employee Form I-9 documentation. The Tracker I-9 system will prompt the user to take this step if required.
Update the Additional Information text box per the instructions in the section titled Update the Section 2 Additional Information Textbox below
Click the Save/Validate button and complete the Section 2 Electronic Amendment form to complete the process

Scenario 2 Tips:

The employee’s new documentation must be unexpired.
Follow these instructions if the virtually inspected documents were presented for the completion of Section 2 or Section 3.

Scenario 2: Updating Document Information for a Historical I-9

If the employee’s I-9 was created in the Tracker system as a Historical I-9 and the employee presents documentation that is different than the documentation presented for their remote verification, take the following steps in the Tracker I-9 system:

Navigate to Section 2
Enter the following information in the Section 2 Additional Information textbox
1. The new Document Title(s)
2. The new Document Issuing Authority(ies)
3. The new Document Number(s)
4. The new Document Expiration Date(s)
Update the Additional Information text box per the instructions in the section titled Update the Section 2 Additional Information Textbox below
Click the Save/Acknowledge button and complete the Section 2 Electronic Amendment form to complete the process
In the rare event that employee’s work authorization is temporary and the new documentation changes when employee’s work authorization should be reverified, then navigate to the Summary Tab and update the Reverification Status date as necessary.

Scenario 2 Tips:

The employee’s new documentation must be unexpired.
Follow these instructions if the virtually inspected documents were presented for the completion of Section 2 or Section 3.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The USCIS instructions for updating Section 2 are slightly different than the instructions above because USCIS assumes the employer completes the Form I-9 on paper. The instructions are tailored to the electronic Tracker I-9 solution’s validation logic and Electronic I-9 Audit Trail requirements to ensure compliance.

Scenario 3: Updating the Form I-9 for Separated Employees

Per USCIS guidelines, if the employee separates before the physical inspection can be completed, include an explanation in the Additional Information box on Form I-9 and the date of the employee’s separation. While USCIS published sample images illustrating what text employers should enter in the Section 2 Additional Information textbox (here), they did not provide a visual example for this scenario. The screenshot below represents an example of text an employer could choose to use to meet this requirement.

Update the Section 2 Additional Information Textbox

USCIS provides the following instructions for how to handle two different physical inspection scenarios depending upon the individual who makes the updates:

Scenario 1: The same individual who examined the employee’s document(s) remotely and signed Section 2 is the same person who will conduct the physical inspection, or
Scenario 2: The physical inspection will be conducted by a different person. In this case, they should enter their full name and title in the Additional Information field

For Scenario 1, the individual should update the Section 2 Additional Information textbox by adding the text “Documents physically examined [DATE] [Individual’s Initials]” immediately next to the previously entered “COVID-19” entry. For example, if Tim Thompson inspected the documents remotely and now inspects the physical documents on July 1, 2023, enter “Documents physically examined on 7/1/2023 TT” next to the previously entered COVID-19 annotation.

For Scenario 2, if Sally Simpson did not inspect the document remotely but will inspect the physical documents on July 1, 2023, enter “Documents physically examined on 7/1/2023 by HR Manager Sally Simpson” next to the previously entered COVID-19 annotation.

If you already updated Form I-9s after the deferred physical document inspection and the annotation in the Additional Document section is slightly different, don’t worry and don’t feel compelled to go back and update the I-9s again. We believe employers should not be penalized if they used reasonable alternative wording or methods for annotating their I-9s.

Once you have updated the Additional Information textbox after inspecting the original documents, click the Save/Validate button to amend Section 2. The changes to the Additional Information textbox will be recorded in the Electronic I-9 Audit trail.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to update the Section 2 Additional Information textbox for Section 3 document verifications.

Using a Third Party for Deferred Physical Document Inspections

This section only applies if:

Your organization relied upon the temporary remote document inspection policy, and
The deferred physical document inspection cannot be conducted on-site and in-person by an I-9 Manager with access to the Tracker system. For example, your organization will rely upon a third-party remote representative to inspect the original I-9 documents.

The best option for conducting the physical document verification process for a remote employee is to utilize the Tracker I-9 Remote Section 2 Amendment feature described below. This feature is available to all Tracker I-9 customers. If you do not see the feature in the system, please reach out to the Tracker I-9 support team or your implementation manager.

Summary: Identify a remote third party to complete a Remote Section 2 Amendment. The third party and employee will need to coordinate a face-to-face meeting to complete the in-person physical document inspection review.

This Applies to: Section 2 only

Detailed Steps:

Ensure the Remote Section 2 Amendment workflow is enabled in your Client configuration settings.
Identify a remote third party who will serve as the Authorized Representative to update Section 2 using Tracker Remote Section 2 Amendment workflow. You only need the individual's email address to get started.
Help coordinate an in-person meeting between the employee and the remote third-party Authorized Representative. The purpose of this meeting is for the employee to present the physical document to the remote Authorized Representative, and for the Authorized Representative to document the inspection in the Tracker I-9 system.
Access the Form I-9 that requires the deferred document inspection. Click the menu option in the right corner of the Form I-9 page and select the Remote Section 2 Amendment option.
Enter the required information on the Form and click Submit to send an email to the Authorized Representative’s email address requesting a change to Section 2 of the Form I-9. The instructions to the Authorized Representative are auto-populated with template text.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to update the instructions to describe what changes should be made.
1. If the individual completing the Remote Section 2 Amendment is the same person who virtually inspected the employee’s documents, then consider adding the following instructions (per the guidelines described above)
  1. Please meet with the employee and physically inspect their original Section 2 documents
  2. Please verify that the document information is correct. Make any necessary changes to the previously entered document information as necessary.
  3. Please update the "Additional Information" textbox with the following text:
    - “COVID-19 Documents physically examined [DATE OF INSPECTION] [Your Initials]”.
    - For example, if you inspected the documents on March 1, 2021, and your name is Tina Thomas, enter “COVID-19 Documents physically examined March 1, 2021, TT”
2. If the individual completing the Remote Section 2 Amendment is NOT the same person who virtually inspected the employee’s documents, then consider adding the following instructions (per the guidelines described above)
  1. Please meet with the employee and physically inspect their original Section 2 documents
  2. Please verify that the document information is correct. Make any necessary changes to the previously entered document information as necessary.
  3. Please update the "Additional Information" textbox with the following text:
    - “COVID-19 Documents physically examined [DATE OF INSPECTION] by Authorized Representative [Your First Name and Last Name]”.
    - For example, if you inspected the documents on March 1, 2021, and your name is Tina Thomas, enter “COVID-19 Documents physically examined March 1, 2021, by Tina Thomas”
The Authorized Representative receives a Remote Section 2 Amendment request email with instructions for accessing Section 2 of the Form I-9.
The Remote Section 2 Amendment landing page provides an overview of the amendment process, with an option for the Authorized Representative to accept or decline the request.

When the Authorized Representative declines the request, the amendment process ends and the Section 2 Amendment task status changes to Declined. The system also sends an email based upon the Remote Access Declined email alert configuration settings (when enabled)
When the Authorized Represents accepts the request, the system displays the Remote Section 2 Amendment page. The instructions included in the Request Remote Section 2 Amendment form will display at the top of the Section 2 page.
The Authorized Representative clicks Save, enters their name, completes the attestation which concludes the Remote Section 2 process.
The Tracker I-9 system updates Section 2, the Electronic Audit Trail, and PDF Form I-9 signing history.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Leveraging the Remote Section 2 Amendment Feature is our recommended approach for completing the deferred physical document inspection for remote employees. Consider the alternative options described in Appendix A as workarounds and only use them if the Remote Section 2 Amendment feature is not an option for your organization, or for remote Section 3 physical document inspection.

Appendices

Appendix A: Remote Document Verification Options

The best option for remote document verification is described above in the section titled Leverage Tracker I-9's Remote Section 2 Amendment Functionality. If the Remote Section 2 Amendment feature is not a good fit, consider the 3 alternative options below.

Option 1: Screenshare Option

Summary: Meet with the employee and remote third-party Authorize Representative to document the physical document inspection using a screensharing tool

This Applies to: Section 2 and Section 3

Detailed Steps:

Coordinate a meeting between the employee, remote third-party Authorized Representative (e.g., notary, friend/neighbor), and the Tracker I-9 user with access to the employee’s I-9 in Tracker. The employee and remote representative will meet in person. The Tracker I-9 user will attend the meeting remotely. The purpose of this meeting is for the employee to present the physical document to the remote representative, and for the Tracker I-9 user to document the inspection in the Tracker I-9 system.
For the purposes of facilitating the Tracker I-9 user’s remote attendance, use a video conferencing tool that supports screensharing and, ideally, also supports the ability to pass control of the mouse/keyboard to an attendee (like Zoom, or GoTo Meeting). Ideally, the remote representative or employee should have access to a computer or tablet that:
- Can connect to the internet when the employee and representative meet
- Has the same video conferencing tool pre-installed
During the meeting:
1. The Tracker I-9 user should log into Tracker and navigate to the employee’s I-9
2. The employee presents the physical documents to the remote representative
3. The remote representative determines that the documents qualify for I-9 purposes, appear to be genuine, and relate to the employee presenting them
4. Update the Section 2 (or Section 3) of the I-9 in Tracker
  1. If the video conferencing tool supports the ability to pass keyboard and mouse control, and the remote representative or employee has a computer or tablet that can connect to the video conferencing session, pass the keyboard and mouse control to the remote representative and ask them to update the Section 2 Additional Information textbox with “physically inspected by [First Name] [Last Name], [Title], on [Date of Inspection]”. Mitratech recommends using “Authorized Representative” as the “Title” value, but “Notary”, “Remote Representative”, or any other reasonable description should be fine.
  2. If the video conferencing tool does not support the ability to pass the keyboard and mouse control, the Tracker I-9 user should update the Section 2 Additional Information textbox with “physically inspected by [Remote Representative First Name] [Remote Representative Last Name], [Title], on [Date of Inspection]. Section 2 Additional Information updated by [Tracker I-9 User First Name] [Tracker I-9 User Last Name] on [Current Date]”.
  3. Make any additional changes to Section 2 as needed (e.g., the Document Number was miss entered). If the employee presents different documents, click the “Reselect from list” button and enter the new document information.
  4. When all updates are completed, click the Save/Validate button in the Tracker UI and complete the Electronic I-9 Amendment Form.

Option 2: Paper I-9 Option

Summary: capture the physical inspection information on a paper Form I-9. Forward the I-9 to a Tracker I-9 user with access to the employee’s I-9 in Tracker, and then update the I-9.

This Applies to: Section 2 and Section 3

Detailed Step:

The employee and remote third-party Authorized Representative (e.g., notary, friend/neighbor) coordinate a meeting where the employee and remote representative will meet in person. The purpose of this meeting is for the employee to present the physical document to the remote representative, and for the remote representative to record the physical document inspection on an electronic I-9 PDF, or a printed I-9 Form.
During the meeting:
1. The employee presents the physical documents to the remote representative
2. The remote representative determines that the documents qualify for I-9 purposes, appear to be genuine, and relate to the employee presenting them
3. The remote representative uses the current version of the Form I-9 to record the document information that was physically inspected
  - RECOMMENDED: If the remote representative will have access to a computer or tablet during the meeting, encourage the representative to access the USCIS I-9 “smart” form here. When completing this electronic I-9 PDF, the remote representative only needs to complete Section 2. TWO IMPORTANT NOTES about the “smart” form:
    1. To complete Section 2 correctly, the remote representative must indicate the employee’s “Citizenship/Immigration Status” in the field below by selecting 1, 2, 3 or 4 from the dropdown. Here are the definitions for which number to select:
      - 1 = US Citizen
      - 2 = Non-citizen National
      - 3 = Lawful Permanent Resident
      - 4 = Alien Authorized to Work
    2. Once Section 2 is completed, the remote representative must click the “Print” button. Once the button is clicked, the “smart” form will likely display an error message because Section 1 is not completed. In this scenario, the Section 1 errors are acceptable. However, any Section 2 errors should be analyzed and resolved. Once all Section 2 errors are resolved, then the remote representative should Print the Form I-9 and sign Section 2 with a wet signature.
  - If using the “smart” Form I-9 is not a good option, then the remote representative should print a copy of the current version of the Form I-9 (here), complete Section 2 only, including adding a wet signature to Section 2. NOTE: this paper option is not recommended, since paper Form I-9 processes are prone to errors because there are no guardrails to prevent common mistakes.
  - Whether the remote representative completes the “smart” Form I-9, or a paper Form I-9, the Section 2 Additional Information textbox should be populated with “COVID-19 physically inspected by [First Name] [Last Name], [Title], on [Date of Inspection]”. Mitratech recommends using “Authorized Representative” as the “Title” value, but “Notary”, “Remote Representative”, or any other reasonable description should be fine.
After the steps above are complete and the meeting is over, the employee or remote representative needs to send the Form I-9 with wet signature to the Tracker I-9 user who will update the electronic I-9 in Tracker. RECOMMEMDATION: be sure to send the Form I-9 securely since Section 2 captures employee personally identifiable information. Using dropbox, Google Drive, or any other secure file sharing solution is recommended. Alternately, if the Form I-9 file is encrypted, it can be sent via email, just be sure to send the encryption password separately.
Once the Tracker I-9 user receives the Form I-9 file:
1. Inspect the Form I-9 to make sure it looks correct
2. Navigate to the employee’s I-9 in Tracker
3. Update the Section 2 Additional Information textbox with “physically inspected by [Remote Representative First Name] [Remote Representative Last Name], [Title], on [Date of Inspection]. Section 2 Additional Information updated by [Tracker I-9 User First Name] [Tracker I-9 User Last Name] on [Current Date]”.
4. Make any additional changes to Section 2 as needed (e.g., the Document Number was miss entered). If the employee presents different documents, click the “Reselect from list” button and enter the new document information.
5. When all updates are completed, click the Save/Validate button in the Tracker UI and complete the Electronic I-9 Amendment Form.
6. Upload a copy of the Form I-9 that was completed by the remote representative to the electronic I-9 Record in Tracker.
7. Navigate to the Summary Tab and add a Custom Audit Note indicating that the physical document inspection process was completed on paper, the electronic I-9 record was updated accordingly, and a copy of the Form I-9 that was used to compete the physical document inspection is attached to the electronic I-9 record.

Option 3: Re I-9 Option

Summary: If none of the options above are feasible, create a new I-9. There are two options for how to redo the I-9 in Tracker: 1) save a copy of the original I-9 and assets, delete the original I-9, and then create the new I-9; or, 2) mark the original I-9 as “terminated”, and then create the new I-9.

Delete and Create Detailed Steps:

Navigate to the employee’s I-9 in Tracker
1. Click the Summary Tab, then save a copy of the following assets
  - The latest I-9 PDF in the Audit History
  - The Electronic I-9 Audit Trail
  - Any attachments saved under the View/Upload Attachments feature
2. Click on the Section 2 tab
  - Save a copy of any image files saved to the List A, or List B/C Attachment fields
3. Click on the E-Verify Tab (ONLY IF AN E-VERIFY CASE EXISTS)
  - Save a copy of any E-Verify Case Histories
  - Save a copy of any E-Verify Attachments
4. Be sure to complete the steps above before proceeding to the next step.
Click the Delete I-9 button and select Yes on the confirmation alerts. This will permanently delete the I-9 from the Tracker system, so please do NOT take this step until you are ready.
Click the Save/Create New I-9 button in Tracker (If this feature is disabled, consider changing the user’s security role so the feature is enabled) and select the most appropriate I-9 workflow. For remote I-9 processing, consider the “Remote: Employer Appoint” or “Remote: Employee Appoint”.
- The Remote: Employer Appoint requires the Tracker I-9 user to enter the information above the remote representative
- The Remote: Employee Appoint lets the employee enter the information about the remote representative.
If the original I-9 went through E-Verify, navigate to the Summary Tab, find the “E-Verify Option” module, and select the “Off” option. This will prevent the new I-9 from going through E-Verify.
Once the new I-9 is completed:
1. Upload all of the I-9 assets that were saved in steps 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3.
2. Navigate to the Summary Tab and add a Custom Audit Note indicating that the physical document inspection process was completed by completing a new I-9, the previous electronic I-9 record assets are attached to the new electronic I-9 record.

Mark as Terminated Detailed Steps:

NOTE: this workaround requires the user to flag the I-9 as “Terminated” – even though employment is still active - to preserve the original I-9 and allow the user to create a new I-9. If you are not comfortable with the requirements, consider using one of the other options described above.

Navigate to the employee’s I-9 in Tracker
1. Click the Summary Tab
2. Select the “Employee is Terminated” checkbox
3. IMPORTANT: Leave the “Term Date” field empty. This will set the Next Action to “Purge” but without a Purge eligibility date. Do not enter a Term Date until employment ends.
Click the Save/Create New I-9 button in Tracker (If this feature is disabled, consider changing the user’s security role so the feature is enabled) and select the most appropriate I-9 workflow. For remote I-9 processing, consider the “Remote: Employer Appoint ” or “Remote: Employee Appoint”.
- The Remote: Employer Appoint requires the Tracker I-9 user to enter the information above the remote representative
- The Remote: Employee Appoint lets the employee enter the information about the remote representative.
If the original I-9 went through E-Verify, navigate to the Summary Tab, find the “E-Verify Option” module, and select the “Off” option. This will prevent the new I-9 from going through E-Verify.
Once the new I-9 is completed:
1. Navigate to the Summary Tab and add a Custom Audit Note indicating that the physical document inspection process was completed by completing a new I-9, the previous electronic I-9 record assets are attached to the new electronic I-9 record.
2. When the employee’s employment ends, update both the original I-9, and the new I-9, with the Term Date.

Appendix B: Remote Document Verification Policy History

Below is a history of the DHS publications authorizing the temporary remote I-9 document verification process.

Publication	Publication Date	Policy Expiration Date	Publication Link
Original Announcement	March 19, 2020	May 19, 2020	link
1st Extension	May 14, 2020	June 19, 2020	link
2nd Extension	June 16, 2020	July 19, 2020	link
3rd Extension1	July 18, 2020	August 19, 2020	link
4th Extension	September 15, 2020	November 19, 2020	link
5th Extension	November 18, 2020	December 31, 2020	link
6th Extension	December 23, 2020	January 31, 2021	link
7th Extension	January 27, 2021	March 31, 2021	link
8th Extension	March 31, 2021	May 31, 2021	link
9th Extension	May 26, 2021	August 31, 2021	link
10th Extension	August 31, 2021	December 31, 2021	link
11th Extension	December 15, 2021	April 30, 2022	link
12th Extension	April 25, 2021	October 31, 2022	link
13th Extension (FINAL)	October 11, 2022	July 31, 2023	link

Change Log

Date	Version Number	Summary of Changes
May 22, 2023	1.0	Initial Publication