I-9 Employment Verification and Your Rights

Short answer: Almost every U.S. employer must complete a Form I-9 for every new hire to confirm identity and work authorization. You choose which documents to show from official lists set by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) — the employer cannot demand a specific document, ask for more documents than the law requires, or reject valid documents because of your citizenship status, immigration status, or national origin. Some employers also run your information through E-Verify, an electronic system that checks it against government records. If you hold a work permit or other document that expires, your employer must reverify your eligibility before it lapses — but only for the specific document that expires, not your whole file.

What Form I-9 is and how it works

Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, is a federal form required under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986. Nearly every employer in the United States must complete one for each employee, citizen and non-citizen alike. Section 1 is generally due by the employee's first day of paid work, and the employer completes Section 2 within three business days of that start date. The form has two main parts:

• Section 1 — You (the employee) fill this out, attesting to your citizenship or immigration status, generally no later than your first day of paid work. You do not have to reveal your specific immigration category beyond checking the correct attestation box, and you do not have to provide a Social Security number in Section 1 unless your employer participates in E-Verify.
• Section 2 — The employer examines your original documents and records the document type, issuing authority, and number, then completes this section within three business days of your start date. (Rules on remote/virtual document examination have changed over time — check USCIS's I-9 Central for the current procedure.)

Employers must keep completed I-9 forms on file for a set retention period and produce them if requested by authorized government inspectors. The current form and instructions are always posted at USCIS's I-9 Central (uscis.gov/i-9-central) — if you're ever asked to sign a form that looks outdated, check it against the USCIS site.

What documents you can choose — and what your employer cannot do

USCIS publishes three lists of acceptable documents:

• List A documents establish both identity and work authorization by themselves (for example, an unexpired U.S. passport, a Permanent Resident Card, or certain employment authorization documents).
• List B documents establish identity only (for example, a driver's license or state ID).
• List C documents establish work authorization only (for example, a Social Security card that is not restricted, or a birth certificate).

You may present one unexpired document from List A, or one document from List B together with one document from List C. The choice of which acceptable document(s) to show is yours, not your employer's.

The anti-discrimination and "document abuse" rules

Section 274B of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. § 1324b) makes it illegal for employers to discriminate in hiring, firing, or recruitment based on citizenship or immigration status (with narrow exceptions) or national origin, and it separately bans "document abuse" during the I-9 process. Enforcement is handled by the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) in the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. Under these rules, an employer may not:

• Demand more documents than the minimum required, or specific documents (for example, insisting on a Permanent Resident Card when you've offered a valid List B/List C combination).
• Reject documents that reasonably appear genuine and belong to you.
• Require documents with a particular expiration date rather than accepting any valid unexpired document.
• Treat lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, or other work-authorized non-citizens differently from U.S. citizens in the hiring or verification process because of their status or national origin.
• Ask for I-9 documents before making a job offer, or re-check a U.S. citizen's or existing employee's documents without a legitimate reason (over-documentation aimed at some employees but not others is itself a form of discrimination).

These protections generally apply regardless of your citizenship or immigration status, though the anti-discrimination provision's citizenship-status protections are limited to certain categories of work-authorized individuals. If an employer refuses to hire you, asks for documents beyond what the list requires, or treats you differently because of how you look, sound, or where you're from, you may have a claim. You can learn more in our related guide on workplace discrimination based on national origin or race, and file a charge with IER directly (see "What to do" below).

E-Verify basics

E-Verify is a free, internet-based system operated jointly by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. Employers who participate compare the information from your Form I-9 against SSA and DHS records to confirm that you're authorized to work. Key points:

• Participation is voluntary for most private employers under federal law, but mandatory for federal contractors with a FAR E-Verify clause, and a number of states require some or all employers to use it. Since state mandates and contractor rules change, check e-verify.gov or your state labor agency for the rule that applies to your employer.
• An employer cannot use E-Verify to prescreen applicants before a hire is made, and cannot selectively run checks on some new hires but not others based on citizenship, status, or national origin — selective use is itself document abuse/discrimination.
• If E-Verify can't immediately confirm your work authorization, you'll get a "Tentative Nonconfirmation" (TNC), which E-Verify also refers to as a case result requiring further action. This is not a final denial. Your employer must give you written notice and a chance to resolve the mismatch (often by contacting SSA or DHS) before taking any adverse action. Don't resign or accept termination based solely on a TNC — follow the notice's referral instructions.
• An employer may not fire you, cut your hours, or otherwise take adverse action while a TNC is still within its contest period.

Reverification: when it's required and when it isn't

Reverification means completing Supplement B of Form I-9 (formerly known as Section 3) — or completing a new I-9 — when a document you originally presented that established your work authorization has an expiration date and that date arrives. Important limits:

• Reverification applies only to documents showing an expiration date that established work authorization (for example, many Employment Authorization Documents). It does not apply to List B identity-only documents, and U.S. passports and Permanent Resident Cards generally are not reverified just because the card itself expires — check I-9 Central for the current exempted categories.
• When reverification is required, you may present any acceptable List A or List C document to show continued work authorization — the choice among acceptable documents is still yours.
• Employers must reverify before the document expires, not after, but cannot single you out because of national origin or perceived immigration status while ignoring similarly situated coworkers.
• Some categories carry automatic extensions tied to a pending renewal (certain EAD categories and F-1 STEM OPT extensions have had such provisions). These rules change often, so if your document is expiring and a renewal is pending, confirm the current automatic-extension rule for your category at uscis.gov before assuming coverage lapses or continues.
• If a work authorization document has truly expired with no valid extension, your employer generally cannot continue employing you until you present a new unexpired document — but still cannot demand a specific replacement or act before the current document actually expires.

What to do if you think your rights were violated

1. Document what happened. Write down dates, what was requested or said, and who said it. Keep copies of any notices (including a TNC notice).
2. Ask for the request in writing if an employer demands documents beyond the I-9 list options — this creates a record and often prompts the employer to correct course.
3. If you get a Tentative Nonconfirmation, follow the notice's instructions to contact SSA or DHS within the stated timeframe; don't quit or accept termination before the contest period runs.
4. File a charge with the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) if you believe you faced document abuse, national origin discrimination, or citizenship-status discrimination in hiring or verification. There is a hard deadline: charges generally must be filed within 180 days of the discriminatory act. IER's worker hotline is 1-800-255-7688, and information and complaint forms are at justice.gov/crt/immigrant-and-employee-rights-section.
5. Consult a qualified immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative if the issue is tangled up with a pending immigration case, a status question, or if you're unsure how a reverification or TNC issue affects your ability to keep working.

A note on notario fraud

Be careful of "notarios," unlicensed "immigration consultants," or paid form-preparers who are not attorneys or DOJ-accredited representatives. In many countries a "notario público" is a licensed legal professional, but in the United States a notary public generally is not qualified to give immigration advice. Paying an unauthorized person to handle an I-9, E-Verify, or discrimination problem can lead to bad advice, lost fees, or a worse legal outcome. Verify credentials before paying anyone, and when in doubt, contact IER, USCIS, or a licensed immigration attorney directly.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult a qualified immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative — and beware of notario or unauthorized-practice fraud; verify credentials before you pay anyone for immigration help.