Forms I-9: Update acceptable documents by July 2022

Heads up: You may need to update certain Forms I-9 by July 31, 2022.

Specifically, some employees at your company may have presented expired List B acceptable documents. The dates in question? Between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022.

The Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) had allowed employees to show their employers expired documents under a temporary policy.

That’s because people experienced difficulties renewing documents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although DHS extended the temporary policy several times over the past couple years, the agency now says document-issuing authorities have reopened, and the time has come to make sure you have the proper documentation on file.

Here’s how you do that under three different situations:

3 situations with Forms I-9

If employees completed Forms I-9 between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, with expired List B documents and those documents expired on or after March 1, 2020, follow these instructions:

1. If the employee is still employed with your company, then have that person provide an unexpired document that establishes identity. They may present the renewed List B document, a different List B document or a document from List A.

On the I-9, in Section 2, enter the following in “Additional Information”: title, issuing authority, number and expiration date.

Also, initial and date the change.

2. If the employee no longer works for your company, then you don’t need to take any action.

3. If the List B document was auto extended by the issuing authority, and when the employee showed you the document it was unexpired, then no action is required.

As you may recall, under the temporary policy, DHS had told employers to:

• enter the expiration date of the acceptable document in Section 2, and
• write “COVID-19 EXT” in the “Additional Information” field.

Now, says DHS, it’s time to update those forms.