E-Verify documents: what changes from a standard I-9

E-Verify is the online system, run by DHS with the Social Security Administration, that checks the facts on a completed Form I-9 against government records (E-Verify, Verification Process). It does not have its own list of documents. It reads the document titles, numbers and expiration dates the employer typed into Section 2 of the I-9.

So the question “which E-Verify documents do I need” has a short answer: the same ones as for the I-9 documents lists, chosen by the employee. The difference sits in a few rules that only bind employers enrolled in E-Verify, set out in the sections below.

The documents come from their usual issuers: the State Department for passports, USCIS for green cards and work permits, a state DMV for licenses and IDs, and the Social Security Administration for the card. The employer creates the case in E-Verify; DHS and SSA return the result (E-Verify, Verification Process). The employee may contact DHS or SSA to fix a mismatch.

1. Ask the new hire to complete Section 1 of Form I-9 with a Social Security number, or to add it as soon as it is issued.
2. Examine the documents the employee chose; if they chose List B plus List C, check the List B document has a photo.
3. Enter the document data in Section 2 exactly as printed, then create the case from that form.
4. If E-Verify prompts photo matching, compare the photo on the document with the one on screen. Photo matching is the E-Verify step that shows you the government photo for that document (E-Verify, Verification Process).
5. Record the case result and close the case once you receive a final result.

• Accepting a List B document with no photo, such as a voter registration card, from an employee at an E-Verify employer.
• Asking the employee to bring their Social Security card because E-Verify needs the number.
• Creating a case for a job applicant before they accept the offer and complete Form I-9.
• Treating a mismatch as a final answer and pulling the employee off the schedule.

An employer that does not use E-Verify follows the standard Form I-9 rules. One that does adds these, each from USCIS or E-Verify guidance.

An E-Verify employer needs the number, but it still cannot ask for a particular card that shows it. USCIS says you cannot ask employees to provide a specific document with their Social Security number on it, and that doing so may be unlawful discrimination (USCIS Handbook for Employers M-274, 3.0 Completing Section 1).

A restricted card, for example one marked “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION”, does not count as a List C document. The employer still enters the number from it when creating the case (USCIS, Form I-9 Acceptable Documents).

Start from a completed Form I-9. E-Verify asks you to create the case no later than the third business day after the employee starts work for pay (E-Verify, Verification Process). An employer may not create a case before the person accepts the job offer and completes the form (E-Verify, Employee Rights and Responsibilities).

E-Verify is for new hires. It is not used to reverify an existing employee whose temporary work authorization expired; that update goes in Supplement B of the form (E-Verify, Employee Rights and Responsibilities).

E-Verify returns one of a short set of results (E-Verify, Verification Process). A tentative nonconfirmation is a mismatch between the form and DHS or SSA records; it is not a finding that the person cannot work.

• Employment Authorized: the information matched; close the case.
• E-Verify Needs More Time: DHS is checking further; wait for an update.
• Tentative Nonconfirmation (mismatch): notify the employee, who chooses whether to take action (E-Verify, Verification Process).
• Case in Continuance: the employee has contacted DHS or SSA and more time is needed.
• Close Case and Resubmit: DHS or SSA asks for a new case.
• Final Nonconfirmation: E-Verify cannot confirm the employee’s work authorization after the mismatch process ends (E-Verify, Verification Process).

E-Verify lists the employee’s rights in plain terms (E-Verify, Employee Rights and Responsibilities). The employer must display the E-Verify participation notice and the Department of Justice “Right to Work” poster in English and Spanish. During a mismatch, the employee gets a Further Action Notice and may keep working while it is resolved (E-Verify, Employee Rights and Responsibilities).

An E-Verify employer must not tell the employee which Form I-9 documents to present (E-Verify, Employee Rights and Responsibilities). If you hire remotely, the same enrollment also opens the remote I-9 verification procedure.

• E-Verify, Verification Process: Cases start from a completed Form I-9 and are created by the third business day; photo matching documents; the list of case results.
• E-Verify, Employee Rights and Responsibilities: No case before an accepted offer and completed I-9; no use for reverification; posters; the employer must not specify documents.
• USCIS Handbook for Employers M-274, 4.0 Completing Section 2: For E-Verify employers, a List B document presented with List C must contain a photograph.
• USCIS Handbook for Employers M-274, 3.0 Completing Section 1: E-Verify employees must provide a Social Security number; employers cannot ask for a specific document showing it.
• USCIS Handbook for Employers M-274, 4.2 Minors: At E-Verify employers, a parent or guardian cannot establish identity for a minor.
• USCIS Handbook for Employers M-274, 4.1 Retaining Copies of Documents: E-Verify employers must keep copies of a U.S. passport, passport card, Permanent Resident Card or EAD when presented.
• USCIS, Form I-9 Acceptable Documents: Restricted Social Security cards are not List C documents, but E-Verify employers still enter the number.