During the pandemic, as a reaction to corporate HR teams going largely remote, the US federal government announced it would temporarily restrict a decades-old requirement that employers must inspect new employee's I-9 eligibility forms in person. Prior to this, the requirement from US Citizenship and Immigration Services was strictly enforced - particularly under the Trump administration, which saw it as a way to curb illegal immigration.

This became challenging in 2020.

• Within the weeks following COVID-19 being declared a national emergency March 13, USCIS issued a temporary proclamation that employers could use remote means to view employees documents (email, portal uploads, video, etc). The proclamation was intended to end once the emergency was lifted.
• Prior to April 1, 2021, these flexibilities only applied to employers and workplaces operating exclusively remotely. If employees were physically present at a work location, DHS offered no exception to the in-person verification of identity and employment eligibility documentation. These flexibilities were initially allowed for a period of 60 days and were subsequently extended several times.
• On August 31, 2021, DHS announced that the document examination flexibilities established on March 20, 2020, were extended until December 31, 2021.

Related: ICE Extends Form I-9 Remote Review Through End of 2021

The ruling was embraced by employers. In July, the Society for Human Resource Management asked the federal government to make the ruling permanent.

On October 16, 2021, the agency announced that it was seeking comment from employers on the effectiveness of the policy and if it should be made permanent. The comment period is open until December 27, 2021.