USCIS requires re-verification of Form I-9s / video I-9 verification ending

August 29, 2023
Arliss Nakken

** UPDATE on August 29, 2023**

While many individuals have completed their re-verifications, the campus still must proceed with termination noticing (as outlined below) for those who do not complete the process because non-compliance can result in USCIS fines of up to $2,500 per employee and potential risk to federal funding. Accordingly, the following steps will occur: 

  • August 29, 2023: Notices of Intent to Terminate (NOIT) will be sent to all impacted employees who are not yet fully compliant.

    • Represented employees have different timelines to reply to the NOIT depending on the bargaining unit they belong to.

  • August 29, 2023: Non-compliant student employees will receive a notice advising them they will be placed on Unpaid Administrative Leave beginning close of business on August 30, through September 8, which will be their separation date unless they become compliant. 

  • August 30, 2023: Final USCIS deadline to comply. Non-compliant employees will be placed on Paid Administrative Leave until they complete the re-verification, provided that they complete the re-verification within the specific timeframe outlined in the NOIT. 

  • September 12/13, 2023:  Final Notice of Discipline: Termination Notice issuance.

  • September 15, 2023: Non-compliant employees will be terminated at the close of business (exception: IX represented employees' termination date will be September 29, 2023).

**UPDATE on August 10, 2023: The deadline for re-verification completion has been extended from August 11, 2023 to August 24, 2023.

(original News article on June 22, 2023)

In a recent email to the campus community (staff, student employees, and academic personnel), important awareness was shared regarding the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)  announcementas it relates to (1) the ending of remote verification (e.g. via Zoom) in place ofthe physical examination of an employee’s identity/work authorization documentation (Federal Form I-9), and (2) the requirement to physically examine work authorization documents by August 30, 2023 for those individuals hired on/after March 20, 2020, and whose documents were examined remotely. 

Who will this apply to?

  • Only individuals hired ON or AFTER March 20, 2020, AND

    • They had their work authorization documentation verified with a video appointment

All re-verifications are required to be completed no later than August 11, 2023.

Who is excluded?

  • Individuals hired BEFORE March 20, 2020.

  • Individuals hired ON or AFTER March 20, 2020 AND

    • Appeared in person to a campus employee to have their work authorization documentation physically inspected, OR had them inspected by an Authorized Representative.

  • Anyone who has an expiring appointment as of August 30, 2023 or are otherwise separated from the University. 

What employees need to do if this change applies to them

This is impacting almost 10,000 Berkeley employees. If their work authorization documents were examined remotely after March 20, 2020, one of two actions below will be required to bring their work authorization into compliance. Additional instructions about these two actions will be included in the email to the employee.

  1. The fastest and easiest option is for them to designate an Authorized Representative who will attest that they have physically inspected the work authorization documents (i.e., ID), OR

  2. The employee will need to come to campus by appointment for an in-person review by an HR representative.

It is important to know that failure to comply by the deadline comes with significant impacts For the University, non-compliance comes with hefty fines per employee and potential risk to federal funding. For the impacted employee, non-compliance jeopardizes their systems access and ultimately, their continued employment will terminate after August 30, 2023.  

Additional details to know: 

  1. Please be aware should employees receive an outreach email from ucberkeleyi9verification@berkeley.eduit is not a phishing scam - it will be a legitimate email which will outline the urgent actions needed.

    1. The outreach emails to impacted employees begain in earnest at the end of June '23. Outreach is continuing frequently/daily for employees who have not begun the re-verification process by using this google form to indicate which method of re-verification they choose.

Questions?

Go to this frequently asked question (FAQ) document where you can find general information.