How Employers Can Avoid Discrimination in the Form I-9 and E-Verify Processes

How to Avoid Discrimination in the Form I-9 and E-Verify Processes
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Employer Fact Sheet
How to Avoid Discrimination in the
Form I-9 and E-Verify Processes
This fact sheet discusses how you, as an employer, can avoid
discrimination during the process of verifying an employee’s permission to
work in the United States.
Employers verify employees’ identity and permission to work by completing the Form I‑9.
Some employers also use the E-Verify program. Employers that use E-Verify create E‑Verify
cases after completing the Form I-9 for an employee.
Federal law requires you to follow Form I-9 and E-Verify rules consistently, regardless of an
employee’s citizenship, immigration status, or national origin. This anti-discrimination law is
found at 8 U.S.C. § 1324b.
For questions about this fact sheet, call the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and
Employee Rights Section at 1-800-255-8155.
Completing the Form I-9
1. Your employee completes Section 1
Don’t ask employees for documents for Section 1. Asking for documents for Section 1 could be
unlawful, if based on an employee’s citizenship, immigration status, or national origin.
Some employees who select the fourth box for “Alien authorized to work” (or “A noncitizen
authorized to work” in some versions of the Form I-9) have permission to work that doesn’t
expire. These employees should write “N/A” in the Section 1 expiration date field.
The Social Security number field is optional unless you use E-Verify. But, even if you use
E‑Verify, employees who present sufficient documentation for Section 2 and are waiting for
their Social Security number have satisfied the Form I-9. They can work while they wait for
their Social Security number.
2. You complete Section 2
Allow employees to show their choice of acceptable documentation.
Employees can present any documentation from the Lists of Acceptable Documents to prove
their permission to work. All employees can choose to present either:
• 	Valid List A documentation, or
Immigrant and Employee Rights Section
justice.gov/ier

How to Avoid Discrimination in the Form I-9 and E-Verify Processes
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• 	Valid List B documentation together with valid List C documentation.
Employees can also show acceptable receipts.
Don’t ask employees to prove their citizenship or immigration status when they complete the
Form I-9.
Asking an employee for proof of citizenship or immigration status could be unlawful. For
example, asking an employee who marks “U.S. citizen” to present a naturalization certificate or
U.S. passport, or asking a lawful permanent resident to present a Permanent Resident Card,
could be unlawful discrimination.
Some less common acceptable Form I-9 documents
• 	Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) that are valid past the expiration
date on the card. There are different kinds of EAD automatic extensions. For some
EAD extensions, the employee doesn’t show any additional documentation. Other EAD
extensions require the employee to present a receipt notice with their EAD.
• 	Receipt to replace a lost, damaged, or stolen List A, List B, or List C document.
This is valid for 90 days from the first day of work, or for reverification, 90 days from the
expiration of the prior document.
• 	Form I-94 with a temporary I-551 stamp and photograph. This is a List A receipt
valid until the stamp’s expiration date or, if no expiration date, one year from the date of
issue.
• 	Form I-94 with a refugee stamp or notation. This is a List A receipt valid for 90 days
from the first day of work, or for reverification, 90 days from the expiration of the prior
document.
• 	Form I-94 from certain Afghan and Ukrainian parolees. This is a List A receipt and
valid for 90 days from the first day of work, or for reverification, 90 days from the
expiration of the prior document.
• 	Form I-94 with an asylum stamp. This is a List C document that never expires.
• 	Form I-94 from certain employees with T or U visas. This is a List C document valid
through the “Admit Until” or “Valid Until” date. Sometimes, a T or U visa holder might be
able to use their I-94 past the “Admit Until” or “Valid Until” date.
• 	Naturalization certificate. This is a List C document that never expires.
Reminder:
Rejecting valid documentation because of an upcoming expiration date could be unlawful.
Call the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section or USCIS to get more
information to avoid rejecting valid documentation just because it is unfamiliar or because it is
an older version. Learn more on I-9 Central.

How to Avoid Discrimination in the Form I-9 and E-Verify Processes
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3. You complete Supplement B for reverification and rehire (when needed)
Complete Supplement B when you are required to check an employee’s permission to work
again, such as when an employee’s temporary work authorization document expires. This
additional verification is called “reverification.”
You also can complete Supplement B in certain cases when you rehire an employee.
Follow the Form I-9 instructions for reverification.
Do not reverify U.S. citizens’ documents, U.S. nationals’ documents, Permanent Resident
Cards, or List B documents. Asking employees for unnecessary documents based on the
employee’s citizenship, immigration status, or national origin, could be unlawful.
Employees can present any valid List A document or List C document for reverification. For
example, an employee who presented an Employment Authorization Document for Section 2
may present an unrestricted Social Security card for reverification.
Using E-Verify
If you use E-Verify:
Use the program consistently and without regard to an employee’s citizenship, immigration
status, or national origin.
Discrimination in the E-Verify process can be unlawful. Create an E-Verify case for every new
hire. Learn more at e-verify.gov. Using E-Verify for some workers and not others could be
unlawful discrimination.
Don’t create an E-Verify case for someone before hiring them. Create a case only after
completing a Form I-9.
Don’t request more documents for the E-Verify process. Employers create E-Verify cases
using information from the documentation an employee already presented for the Form I-9.
Requesting unnecessary documents based on
citizenship status or national origin could be unlawful discrimination.
Wait to create an E-Verify case in some situations, such as if an employee is waiting for their
Social Security number, or if employee presents certain receipts for Section 2. While you are
waiting to create an E-Verify case for these employees, allow them to work just like any other
employee.
Don’t create E-Verify cases for employees when reverifying their permission to work.
Notify every employee who receives an E-Verify Tentative Nonconfirmation (also known as a
mismatch). Don’t make assumptions about someone’s permission to work based on an
E‑Verify mismatch. If an employee receives an E-Verify mismatch, let the employee decide
whether to take action to resolve the case.
If an employee takes action on a mismatch, do not fire, suspend, modify a schedule,

How to Avoid Discrimination in the Form I-9 and E-Verify Processes
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delay job placement or otherwise take any adverse action against the employee just
because of the pending mismatch.
Learn more about E-Verify rules at e-verify.gov, the E-Verify MOU, and the E-Verify User
Manual.
Updated April 2025
Contact
Civil Rights Division, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER)
Call the Employer Hotline at 1-800-255-8155
For people with hearing disabilities 1-800-237-2515
Calls can be anonymous.
Free language services are available.
To learn more, visit justice.gov/ier
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
For questions on properly completing the Form I-9 properly creating an E-Verify case,
call 1-888-464-4218
For people with hearing disabilities 1-877-875-6028
To learn more, visit uscis.gov/i-9central or e-verify.gov