Remote I-9 verification in 2026: the DHS alternative procedure, done right

Gate: E-Verify enrollment

You must be enrolled in E-Verify — in good standing — for the hire's worksite

The remote option is not open to every employer. Under the DHS alternative procedure, only employers enrolled in E-Verify and in good standing may examine documents remotely, and only for employees at an E-Verify-participating hiring site. If you are not on E-Verify, or the site isn't enrolled, you are still required to examine original documents in physical, in-person presence. Confirm your enrollment status and site coverage before you let anyone verify a document over video.

Step 1: collect copies first

The employee transmits copies of their documents before the video call

The worker sends you copies (front and back) of the List A document, or the List B and List C documents, they've chosen to present. You keep these copies — retention is mandatory under the alternative procedure, not optional the way it is for a normal in-person I-9.

Step 2: live video examination

You examine the documents in a live, real-time video interaction

A recorded video, a phone call, a photo, or an emailed scan on its own does not satisfy the rule. The examination has to be a live video interaction with the employee, who presents the same documents you received copies of so you can confirm they reasonably appear genuine and relate to that person.

Step 3: complete Section 2 on time

Section 2 is still due within three business days of the start date

Remote examination does not extend the deadline. Section 2 must be completed within three business days of the employee's first day of work for pay — the same timeline as an in-person I-9. Late completion is a substantive violation whether the documents were examined across a desk or across a screen.

Step 4: note the alternative procedure

Indicate on the Form I-9 that you used the alternative procedure, and retain everything

The current Form I-9 has a box to indicate that documents were examined under the alternative procedure. Check it, and keep the copies of the documents you collected with the I-9. Confirm the exact field on the edition of the form you are using — the form and its instructions are the authoritative source.

Using remote examination without being on E-Verify

This is the single most common way a remote I-9 becomes defective. Employers who adopted remote hiring during the COVID-era temporary flexibility sometimes kept examining documents over video after that flexibility ended — without ever enrolling in E-Verify. Those I-9s were not completed under a valid procedure. If you examined documents remotely while not enrolled, that is exactly the kind of gap a self-audit needs to surface and remediate.

Treating a scan or photo as the examination

Receiving copies is only Step 1. The rule requires a live video interaction on top of the copies. An I-9 where the employer simply looked at an emailed scan and never held a live video session did not follow the alternative procedure, even if E-Verify was used.

Not retaining the document copies

For a normal in-person I-9, keeping copies is optional (and must be applied consistently if you do it). Under the alternative procedure it is required. A remote I-9 with no retained copies is missing a mandatory element.

Applying remote examination inconsistently or in a way that discriminates

You cannot offer remote examination to some employees and demand in-person from others in a way that turns on citizenship status, national origin, or a protected characteristic. Inconsistent, status-based treatment invites an anti-discrimination claim on top of the I-9 exposure.

Assuming remote means relaxed

Every substantive and technical rule that applies in person applies remotely: the three-business-day clock, correct list logic, reverification timing, and legible entries. Remote changes how you look at the document, not what makes the I-9 compliant.