COVID-19: Employers may temporarily accept certain expired identity documents in I-9 process

The Department of Homeland Security has announced a temporary policy for employers completing Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification and acceptable identity documents that employees may be unable to renew because of COVID-19 stay-in-place orders and office closures.

The temporary policy applies to documents on List B, such as state driver’s licenses and state ID cards, which expire on or after March 1, 2020.

Key points:

• For List B identity documents that are not extended by the issuing authority:
  • Employers may treat the document as if the employee has presented a valid receipt for an acceptable document.
  • Employers should record information about the document under Section 2 of Form I-9 and enter the word “COVID-19” in the Additional Information field.
  • Within 90 days after the temporary policy ends, the employee must present a valid unexpired document to the employer to replace the expired document (or provide a different valid document).
• For List B identity documents that are extended by the issuing authority because of COVID-19:
  • The document is acceptable as a List B document (not as a receipt) during the extension period specified by the issuing authority.
  • Employers should enter the document’s expiration date in Section 2 of Form I-9 and enter “COVID-19 EXT” in the Additional Information Field.
  • Employers may also attach a copy of a web page or notice indicating that the issuing authority has extended the document, and they may confirm whether the state has automatically extended IDs and driver’s licenses by checking the relevant website.
  • The employee is not required to present a valid unexpired document after the temporary policy ends.

Employers who use E-Verify should use the employee’s expired List B document number from Section 2 of Form I-9 to create an E-Verify case as usual within three days of the date of hire.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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