U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) quietly updated its Form I-9 Inspection Fact Sheet on 24 April 2026, converting a long list of previously ‘technical’ paperwork errors—such as missing hire dates, untimely reverification entries, and improper strike-through corrections—into ‘substantive’ violations that carry immediate fines. Under earlier guidance, employers had ten days to cure technical errors and avoid penalties; that grace period is now gone for dozens of common slip-ups. The policy shift follows a March 2026 directive instructing Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) auditors to step up work-site enforcement after a pandemic lull. Employers can now be fined up to $2,701 per substantive error on first-offence audits, and repeat violations may trigger criminal referrals for ‘knowingly’ hiring undocumented workers. ICE also signalled that remote-verification workflows—popularised during the pandemic—will receive enhanced scrutiny to ensure that copies of identity documents match information entered on the I-9. For mobility and HR leaders, the timing is challenging. Many companies are still adjusting to the July 2025 I-9 redesign and the permanent virtual-verification option for E-Verify participants. Auditing legacy paper forms against the new substantive-error list will require significant resources. Employers should prioritise high-risk fields now deemed substantive—date of hire, document expiry dates, and re-hire annotations—and retrain staff on correction protocols, which must preserve the original entry and include the auditor’s initials and today’s date. Proactive steps include running electronic I-9 reports to flag blanks or format errors, conducting spot checks on remote verifications completed by third-party agents, and updating vendor contracts to reflect the new enforcement posture. Given ICE’s stated goal of increasing audit volume in FY 2027, the cost of inaction could far exceed the expense of a preventive compliance sweep.
Source: Checkr Policy Hub
