This week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) sent email alerts and added guidance on the E‑Verify What’s New area on their website establishing dates for Form I‑9 Section 2 (and related Section 1 notations) for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) countries with terminations stayed by litigation. As discussed in our
Continue Reading TPS in the Waiting Room: Courts Continue to Review, Form I-9 Placeholder Dates AppearAnother Friday, Another Fire Drill: USCIS Releases Late Day Update on Haiti TPS
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued updated guidance late this afternoon, March 13, 2026, revising Form I-9 instructions for Haitian TPS beneficiaries. This update supersedes the February 14, 2026 notice and follows the federal court order in Miot et al. v. Trump, which stayed DHS’s planned termination
Continue Reading Another Friday, Another Fire Drill: USCIS Releases Late Day Update on Haiti TPSTPS Pendulum Swings as the Ninth Circuit Sides with DHS and Restores Certain Terminations
In our recent post on Through the Immigration Lens, we discussed the uncertainty created after the district court’s December 31, 2025 decision restoring Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for beneficiaries from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, and the resulting confusion for employers attempting to navigate Form I-9 compliance. The court decision
Continue Reading TPS Pendulum Swings as the Ninth Circuit Sides with DHS and Restores Certain TerminationsParting Gifts from the Biden Administration: TPS Extensions Ukraine, Venezuela, El Salvador, and Sudan
By: Dawn Lurie, Olivia Scofield, and Isabella Cohen
This blog was updated from a Seyfarth Legal Alert published on January 16.
On January 10, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced important changes that will benefit noncitizens who have applied for or currently hold Temporary Protected
Continue Reading Parting Gifts from the Biden Administration: TPS Extensions Ukraine, Venezuela, El Salvador, and SudanMinor Missteps, Major Consequences: Avoiding Big Trouble from Seemingly Small I-9 Errors
The recent settlement agreement between the Department of Justice and SP Plus Corporation, a Chicago based transportation and parking management company, serves as a critical reminder for employers of their responsibilities under U.S. immigration and anti-discrimination laws. The settlement highlights the potential pitfalls employers may encounter when handling employment verification
Continue Reading Minor Missteps, Major Consequences: Avoiding Big Trouble from Seemingly Small I-9 ErrorsValentines Day Glitch: E-Verify Photo-Match Mayhem
On the morning of February 14, 2024, several clients reached out after encountering issues with the photo matching tool in E-Verify. They reported discrepancies where the photos transmitted by E-Verify did not align with the photos on the employees’ documents. It became increasingly clear that E-Verify was not rendering
Continue Reading Valentines Day Glitch: E-Verify Photo-Match MayhemReady or Not: Form I-9 Flexibilities are Winding Down
By: Dawn Lurie, Matthew Parker* and Amber Stokes*
On May 4, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the official sunset date for COVID-19 related Form I-9 physical inspection flexibilities: July 31, 2023. Additionally, ICE advised that employers would have 30 days, or until August 30, 2023, to complete an in-person verification of all employees that were virtually verified since March 2020. Yesterday’s announcement put an end to the speculation of whether the remote policy would run past July, and whether employers would only have three days after the termination of the flexibilities in which to update I-9s. No and No.
Continue Reading Ready or Not: Form I-9 Flexibilities are Winding DownTrick or Treat: I-9 Flexibilities Extended until October 31, 2022
By: Dawn M. Lurie
Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 25, ICE announced its 13th extension, this time for a six-month period (until October 31, 2022), of the I-9 compliance flexibility rules relating to Form I-9. There is no substantive change in this extension of the policy, allowing for the “in-person” exemption (of identity and work authorization document review), benefiting certain employees and offering flexibility for companies that are phasing back in employees. While we are confident that the government is considering a permanent virtual option, we continue to advise employers to work under the assumption that anyone initially verified using the virtual flexibility will be required to conduct an in-person update as employees return to the workplace, especially in cases where identity was not verified (i.e. those that used the fax/email option).
Lucky #13 – Extension of the COVID I-9 Flexibility
In a thirteenth extension, ending on Halloween 2022, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) posted an unprecedented (it’s been a while since I said that word) six (6) month extension of the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance, initially granted in March 2020. These flexibilities are now extended until October 31, 2022. The posting on the website is a bit confusing, as it just updates the December 2021 announcement, and includes an alert attached to the top of the page which indicates the new deadline.
ICE’s announcement affirms that employers who are taking COVID-19 related precautions and offering working in remote or hybrid environments, may continue inspecting I-9 documents virtually for newly hired employees as well as for reverification of work authorizations. See our prior blog for the guidance and discussion on its forward-facing application, noting that ICE will evaluate a company’s situation “on a case-by-case basis” should a company have used virtual without the workforce being 100% remote from March 20, 2020 to March 31, 2021. Given the confusion and lack of guidance surrounding the directive, we remain optimistic that the government will show leniency for early misunderstandings and misapplications of the original policy.Continue Reading Trick or Treat: I-9 Flexibilities Extended until October 31, 2022
Nothing “new” Other Than a 90 day Extension of Virtual I-9s
Late in the day, on May 26, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a 90-day extension for remote Form I-9 inspection, allowing flexibilities to continue through August 31, 2021.
While the U.S. appears to have turned a corner in the fight against COVID-19, most companies have yet to formulate and implement back to work policies. Thank you to ICE and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), for allowing these employers to head into the holiday weekend without having to worry about the fate of this anticipated extension. And thank you for the 90 days, rather than the shorter 30 or 60-day extensions issued previously.
The Devil is in the Details
It would not be a exciting blog post, if we didn’t have something interesting to point out. The ICE announcement includes two confusing items:
Continue Reading Nothing “new” Other Than a 90 day Extension of Virtual I-9s
E-Verify Spring Cleaning
On February 17, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it will dispose of any E-Verify records older than 10 years on May 14, 2021. On May 19, the E-Verify Records Disposal Date was extended to June 4, 2021. This notice provides a reminder to employers that participation
Continue Reading E-Verify Spring Cleaning