March 2022: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Rescinds COVID-19 Pandemic-Related I-9 Policy Change

Update Applicable to:
All employers

What happened?
On March 17, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is ending the COVID-19 Temporary Policy for List B identity documents.

What are the details?
Effective May 1, 2022, employers may no longer accept expired List B identity documents, such as a driver’s license or state-issued identification cards in the onboarding process.

Due to COVID-19, the DHS responded to the difficulty of renewing documents and permitted employers to accept expired I-9 List B identity documents as evidence of identity. Any employees who presented an expired List B document from May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, will need to revalidate their Form I-9 and present an unexpired identity document. Employees may present a valid unexpired document, a different List B document, or a List A document, such as a U.S. passport or green card. No action is required for past employees that have terminated during that time frame come May 1, 2022.

The United States Citizen and Immigration Services released a chart for employers to follow when revalidating Form I-9s in an announcement.

For more information, please see the links below:

USCIS Announcement

Article 1

What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links above and ensure they are ready for the May 1, 2022, effective date and review any employees who presented expired List B documents between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, and require them to revalidate their Form I-9 by presenting an unexpired identity document.