DHS Issues Updated Guidance On Electronic Form I-9 Compliance

The Electronic Signature and Storage of Form I-9, Employment Verification Final Rule was enacted on August 23, 2010 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Rule allowed for electronic completion and storage of the Form I-9 and required a clear audit trail of actions taken for each electronic Form I-9.  Two years later, on August 22, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security issued guidance for its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents and auditors to follow when collecting electronically generated Form I-9s and analyzing the electronic audit trail.

The guidance memorandum outlines what information to collect during the course of an I-9 inspection and what a minimally acceptable audit trail contains.