Reminder:
Employers may remotely examine employees’ Form I-9 documents.
- The employer must participate in E-Verify in good standing.
- E-Verify is a no-cost, web-based system administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States.
- New E-Verify users must complete a tutorial that includes information on detecting fraudulent documents.
- An employer in good standing –
- Ensures that all hiring sites that use this alternative procedure to remotely examine documents are enrolled in E-Verify,
- Uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of newly-hired employees in the United States, and
- Complies with all other requirements of the E-Verify program.
- The employer must examine copies, front and back, of Form I-9 documents to ensure the documentation reasonably appears to be genuine and related to the employee.
- The employer must conduct a live video session with the employee. The employee will present the documentation during the session to further ensure the documentation presented reasonably appears to be genuine and related to the employee. The documentation presented during the live video session must be the same documentation transmitted in step #2.
- The employer must retain clear and legible copies of the documentation remotely examined, front and back, with the employee’s Form I-9.
- The employer will check the box in Section 2 of Form I-9, indicating that the alternative procedure authorized by DHS was used to examine the documents.
- The employer will create a case in E-Verify.
Remember: After an employee accepts an offer of employment, the employee must complete Section 1 of Form I-9 no later than the first day of work for pay. The employer must complete Section 2 of Form I-9 no later than the 3rd business day the employee works for pay. Remotely examining an employee’s Form I-9 documents does not alter or change these deadlines.