Form I-9 Related News

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas extended and redesignated Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from Oct. 20, 2023, through April 19, 2025.  Current beneficiaries who want to maintain their status must re-register from Aug. 21, 2023, through Oct. 20, 2023. Ukrainian nationals and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Ukraine may submit an initial registration application under the redesignation for TPS for Ukraine and apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Given the time frames for processing TPS re-registration applications, USCIS has automatically extended through Oct. 19, 2024, the validity of certain EADs issued under the TPS designation for Ukraine. Completing Form I-9 To complete or update Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, for TPS Ukraine beneficiaries who present an EAD with a Category Code of A12 or C19 and a Card Expires date of Oct. 19, 2023, enter Oct. 19, 2024, as the new expiration date of the automatically extended EAD on Form I-9. You must reverify these employees before they start work on Oct. 20, 2024.

Employers enrolled in E-Verify during the COVID-19 temporary flexibilities may use an alternative procedure to satisfy the requirement of physically examining Form I-9 documents that had been examined remotely under the COVID-19 flexibilities.   In May 2023, ICE announced that employers had until August 30, 2023, to physically inspect all documents that had been examined remotely using the COVID-19 flexibilities.   On July 25, 2023, DHS announced an alternative procedure for Form I-9 in a Federal Register Notice. Based on the Notice, employers who meet four requirements may choose an alternative procedure in lieu of physically examining Form I-9 documentation that had been examined remotely under the COVID-19 flexibilities.  To qualify for the alternative procedure, the employer must have:  

The new version of Form I‑9, Employment Eligibility Verification (PDF, 483.6 KB) is now available for use. This version contains changes to the form and instructions, including shortening the Form I‑9 to one page and reducing the instructions to eight pages. What Form I‑9 versions may be used Employers may begin using the new Form I‑9 today, Aug. 1, 2023. The Form I‑9 dated "10/19/2019” may continue to be used through Oct. 31, 2023. The version date can be found at the lower left corner of the form. Beginning Nov. 1, 2023, only the new Form I‑9 dated "08/01/23” may be used. A revised Spanish Form I‑9 dated “08/01/23” is available for use in Puerto Rico only. A summary of changes (PDF, 185.1 KB) to the Form I‑9 and instructions is available online.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a new version of Form I‑9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Employers must use Form I‑9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of their employees. Now only one page long, the new edition is easier for employers and employees. Other improvements include clearer instructions and providing guidance on acceptable receipts and the auto-extension of some documents found on the Lists of Acceptable Documents. Employers may begin using the new edition beginning Aug. 1, 2023, but may continue to use the 2019 version of the form through Oct. 31, 2023. Beginning Nov. 1, 2023, only the new Form I‑9 dated ”08/01/2023” may be used. The version date can be found at the lower left corner of the form.

COVID-19 temporary flexibilities for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, will end on July 31, 2023. For employees whose documents were inspected remotely during the temporary flexibilities, employers must complete in-person physical document inspections by August 30, 2023.  Employers may choose to designate an authorized representative to complete Forms I-9 and conduct an in-person physical document inspection on their behalf. See Completing Section 2 on I-9 Central for more information. 

On June 8, 2023, USCIS announced that certain additional Afghan parolees are employment authorized incident to parole. This updated guidance applies to certain Afghan parolees whose unexpired Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, contains a class of admission of "PAR" and indicates Afghanistan as the country of citizenship on the document, if their parole has not been terminated.   This additional category is added to the list of Afghan and Ukrainian parolees that were previously announced on November 21, 2022, as employment authorized incident to parole. With the addition of this additional category, the following Afghan and Ukrainian parolees are employment authorized incident to their parole:

COVID-19 temporary flexibilities for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, will end on July 31, 2023. U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced that employers must complete in-person physical document inspections for employees whose documents were inspected remotely during the temporary flexibilities by August 30, 2023. 

On Jan. 26, 2023, President Biden issued a memorandum directing the secretary of homeland security to extend and expand Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for certain Hong Kong residents, and to provide for continued employment authorization, through Feb. 5, 2025. Accordingly, DHS published a Federal Register notice extending and expanding DED and employment authorization for certain Hong Kong residents through Feb. 5, 2025, and automatically extending through Feb. 5, 2025, the validity of DED-related Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) with an A-11 category code and an expiration date of Feb. 5, 2023. Completing Form I-9