There is a lot of talk and a lot of questions right now about the new administration’s policies and statements on immigration. ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) is the Federal enforcement agency that focuses on immigrant status. They have recently been assisted by the FBI, DHS and other law enforcement agencies when they conduct “raids” to locate and detain suspected offenders. California employers face additional legal requirements due to state laws passed between 2017 and 2021. Employers must, for example, notify employees within 72 hours of receiving an audit notice. Employers are also prohibited from voluntarily allowing ICE to enter non-public areas unless the agent shows an appropriate warrant that authorizes access. Employers and employees are legitimately concerned about their rights and responsibilities. In this article, we will attempt to address some of these concerns. There are two different occasions when an employer might be required to interac

On Friday, July 21, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that an updated I-9 form will be available on August 1, and employers can begin using the form at that time.  The revised form has been streamlined and consolidated into one page, with instructions that are easier to understand. Employers may continue to use the older Form I-9 (Rev. 10/21/19) through October 31, 2023. After that date, employers will be subject to penalties if they use the older form. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) final rule allows for (but doesn’t require) a remote alternative to the physical examination of Form I-9 documentation. Employers may continue to conduct physical examinations. The revised form has a checkbox to indicate when an employee’s Form I-9 documentation was examined using a DHS-authorized alternative procedure. However, at this time, the final rule only allows employers using E-Verify to use alternative verification method. T

The Form I-9 remote verification flexibility was set to expire on April 30, 2022, but has been extended until October 31, 2022.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced an extension of the flexibility in complying with requirements related to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, due to COVID-19. Employers may continue to remotely verify their new hires’ identity and employment eligibility documentation until the new deadline. However, they are encouraged to begin, at their discretion, the in-person verification of identity and employment eligibility documentation for employees who were hired on or after March 20, 2020, and who presented such documents for remote inspection in reliance on the flexibilities first announced in March 2020. For more information on updates to the Form I-9 process, visit the official U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services’ website: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/covid-19-f

As of May 1, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ended its temporary Form I-9 policy that allowed employers to accept documents from List B that had expired on or after March 1, 2020. This policy was implemented due to difficulties surrounding the renewal of documents during COVID-19. Employers must now return to only accepting unexpired List B documents. If an employee presented an expired List B document between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, employers need to update their Form I-9 by July 31, 2022, as follows: If the employee is still employed, they must present an unexpired document that establishes their identity. Employees may present the renewed List B document, a different List B document, or a document from List A. Employers should enter the document title, issuing authority, document number, and expiration date in the “Additional Information” field of Section 2, and initial and date the change. If the employee is no longer employed, no action is