With the changes to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy regarding I-9s, employers are asking, “Do I-9s have to be completed in person?”
The simple answer, starting August 1, is yes! Section 2 of Form I-9 mut be completed in person, regardless of whether it is for an in-office employee or a remote employee.
It’s a simple answer. But employers will be forgiven for the confusion.
Do I-9s Have to Be Completed In Person? After July 31, Yes, They Do
Recall that in March of 2020, DHS temporarily paused the in-person requirement, in recognition of its impracticality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between then and now, employers were permitted to provisionally complete Section 2 of Form I-9 over a video conference platform like Zoom.
And many employers grew accustomed to that flexibility and the efficiencies it added to their onboarding process, particularly for remote employees.
Unfortunately, that provisional flexibility, like the national health emergency that preceded it, is coming to an end on July 31. Thereafter, all New Hires must complete their I-9 in-person. And furthermore, all employees who completed their I-9 remotely must recomplete the I-9 in person by August 31.
So, when employers and their Human Resources teams ask themselves, “Does Section 2 of Form I-9 have to be completed in person?” they may not like the answer, but they must address it nonetheless.
Outsourcing Remote I-9 Verifications
The best way to address the renewed in-person requirement is by outsourcing I-9 Verifications to a national provider that can quickly meet with New Hires to complete Section 2. Honestly, for many companies, it is likely the only way.
Think about it: HR teams are already strapped trying to meet the demands of the hybrid work era, as company rosters expand and contract, and as a whole host of other issues pop up on their radar. Adding an in-person I-9 requirement, particularly with remote workers, to an already overburdened HR team is no practical and is honestly somewhat cruel.
This says nothing of the active employees who must recomplete their I-9 for their employer to remain in compliance.
TrendSource Remote I-9 Verifications Keep Employers in Compliance
Employment Eligibility Verification is serious business and being caught out of compliance is not, in any reasonable sense, worth the risk. Companies must act quickly to resubmit I-9s for active employees, and to retool their onboarding processes to address the renewed in-person requirement.
TrendSource Remote I-9 Verifications are an obvious and efficient solution to this problem. By pairing a qualified Field Agent from TrendSource’s national proprietary database with New Hires to complete Section 2 in person, TrendSource offers the flexibility and precision that employers need.
Head here to learn how it all works and check it out from a New Hire’s perspective as well.
