COVID-19 affects I-9 and E-Verify requirements, REAL ID deadline

No one—no country, no industry, no employer, and no employeehas been left unaffected by the current COVID-19 pandemic. It has caused significant upheaval in the employer-employee relationship and required on-the-fly changes to employment norms. Immigration-related concerns are no exception, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been busy responding to the changing work environment, issuing revisions to the normal processes for I-9 and E-Verify requirement satisfaction and providing guidance to employers in these uncharted times. Let's take a closer look.

Form I-9 procedures relaxed

On March 20, 2020, the DHS announced it would temporarily revise the requirements for reviewing documents presented in the Form I-9 process to accommodate employers whose HR departments are now working remotely. The revised requirements allow the Form I-9 document review to temporarily be conducted remotely. The department's official announcement can be found at https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/dhs-announces-flexibility-requirements-related-form-i-9-compliance.