There are a limited number of documents employees can present employers when completing Section 2 or Section 3 of the Form I-9, which verifies identity and employment authorization to work within the United States. Should one of those verification documents become lost or stolen, employees have the option to present a “receipt” showing they have taken steps to secure a replacement document. The replacement document should be presented within 90 days from the date of hire.
Given the workplace disruption created by the pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (ICE) is allowing alternative documents to be presented for Form I-9 completion in instances where the replacement document hasn’t arrived within the 90-day period.
In such cases, employers should complete a new Section 2 and attach it to the original Form I-9. Additionally, a note of explanation should be included in either the Additional Information box included on page 2 of the Form I-9 or as a separate attachment. An employee must provide one document from List A or one document each from both List B and List C. If the receipt is for a List A document but the employee cannot present the actual replacement List A document for which the receipt was issued by the end of the 90-day receipt period, then the employee may choose to present a different document from List A, or one document each from List B and List C to satisfy the Form I-9 requirements. If the receipt is for a List B document but the employee cannot present the actual document by the end of the 90-day receipt period, then the employee may choose to present a document from List A instead, or a different List B document to satisfy the Form I-9 requirements. Similarly, if the receipt is for a List C document, and the employee does not provide the actual document, the employee can present a List A document or another List C document instead.
