DHS is proposing to allow for alternative procedures for documents required by the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. This proposed rule would create a framework under which the Secretary of Homeland Security (the Secretary) could authorize alternative options for document examination procedures with respect to some or all employers.

Such procedures could be implemented as part of a pilot program, or upon the Secretary’s determination that such procedures offer an equivalent level of security, or as a temporary measure to address a public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, or a national emergency declared by the President pursuant to Sections 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act.

This proposed rule would allow employers (or agents acting on an employer’s behalf) optional alternatives for examining the documentation presented by individuals seeking to establish identity and employment authorization for purposes of completing the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.